Baffin Bay

The Baffin Bay is located between Greenland and Baffin Island it is a ice-clogged body of water with hazardous icebergs.

Summary
           Fig. 1. Map showing the Baffin Bay  area with location of place names mentioned in the text.
           Fig. 2. Bathymetri of Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 3. Map of the North Atlantic region showing twind observations.
           Fig. 4. General ocean surface circulation around Greenland.
           Fig. 5. Map of the Arctic region showing average ice cover.
           Fig. 6. Diagram illustrating the period during which the sun is over the horizon at 74°N, 65°W.
Introduction
Climate and Weather
     General atmospheric circulation and cyclone tracks
           Fig. 7. Mean sea level pressure for January and July, 1951–1960.
     Wind conditions
           Fig. 8. Wind roses for 8 stations in Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 9. Number of occurrences  and frequencies of wind velocities over 13 m/s in Baffin Bay.
           Table 1. Maximum wind speeds in m/s for each of the positions shown in Fig. 8.
     Temperatures
           Fig. 10. Isotherms for January and July.
           Fig. 11. Temperature and precipitation throughout the year at Pituffik and Upernavik.
     Visibility
     Precipitation
           Fig. 12. Frequency of precipitation at Upernavik.
     Icing
Oceanography of Eastern Baffin Bay
     Waves
           Fig. 13. Cumulative probability distribution of significant wave height in Baffin Bay.
     Currents; stratification of the water column
           Fig. 14. Examples of measured vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and derived density at selected locations in eastern Baffin Bay.
     Wind driven circulation in Baffin Bay
           Fig. 15. Sketch showing (in principle) a vertical cross-section along latitude 74°N.
Ice Conditions
    Sea ice
        Distribution
        Thickness
           Fig. 16. Average maximum sea ice thickness in centimetres, 1953–1978.
       Sea ice statistics based on digital grid points 1959–1995
           Fig. 17. Position of grid points analysed in statistical sea ice study.
           Fig. 18. Example of weekly composite ice chart issued by the Canadian Ice Service.
           Fig. 19. Average length (in days) of sea ice-free season in eastern Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 20. Average dates of break-up and freeze-up in eastern Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 21. Extreme break-up and freeze-up dates in eastern Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 22a–d.  Left: probability (in percent) of the occurrence of sea ice of any concentration in eastern Baffin Bay.
                                Right: concentration of sea ice, when sea ice occurs.
           Fig. 23a–b. Sea ice records for the period 1960–1995 for selected grid points.
        Sea ice characteristics based on NOAA satellite imagery 1992–96
           Fig. 24. NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery from eastern Baffin Bay.
           Fig. 25. Combination of SAR images from ERS-1.
    Icebergs
        Origin
           Fig. 26. Map showing generalised pattern of iceberg drift in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay.
        Classification, size and draught
        Distribution
           Fig. 27. Average density of icebergs in Baffin Bay for the period July–October inclusive.
           Fig. 28. Iceberg recordings from the KANUMAS cruise, August–September 1992.
        Iceberg drift study 1980–82
           Fig. 29. Iceberg tracks.
Selected References

Baffin Bay is a small oceanic basin separating northern West Greenland from Baffin Island. Apart from the eastern coastal area, Baffin Bay belongs to the High Arctic region. Mean summer temperatures do not exceed 5°C, while in winter the mean temperature is about 20°C, falling to as low as 40°C in areas with unbroken snow-covered sea ice.

The regional weather pattern is strongly influenced by the North American and Greenland land masses, the latter covered by a vast ice cap, and the North Atlantic–Norwegian Sea and Labrador Sea–Baffin Bay oceanic areas. The mean sea level pressure distribution in January and July (Fig. 7) reflects the track of cyclones moving northeastwards from Newfoundland past South Greenland and Iceland to the Norwegian Sea, especially in the winter. However, some cyclones follow a low pressure trough along the west coast of Greenland to reach Baffin Bay. In general wind conditions in Baffin Bay are moderate, although local depressions can develop at any time of year, causing severe winds in particular near the Greenland coast (Fig. 9 and Table 1).

Precipitation in Baffin Bay is low, on account of the low moisture content of the cold air. Most precipitation falls in the form of snow, and most falls in the autumn and early winter (Fig. 11).

Fog is a common phenomenon in Baffin Bay, particularly in summer when fog covers open water areas for 20–30% of the time.

Icing is a serious potential hazard in Baffin Bay. Icing can be due either to freezing fog or to freezing sea spray. The latter is most likely to occur in the period October–December when temperatures are between zero and -15°C. Below -15°C spray tends to freeze in the air so that it does not adhere to surfaces.

Due to the moderate wind conditions and limited fetch in Baffin Bay, wave heights are characteristically small; the level of 10% exceedance probability is 1.7 m (Fig. 13). When larger waves occur, these are usually of short duration.

The pattern of ocean currents in Baffin Bay has a profound influence on the distribution of temperature, sea ice and icebergs in the area. The main currents are a relatively warm northwards-flowing current along the Greenland coast and the cold southwards-flowing Baffin coast current (Fig. 4).

A statistical study of sea ice has been carried out on the basis of records over a 36 year period (Figs 19–23). From late November until early June virtually the entire area is covered by first year sea ice. This is from 100 to 170 cm thick, thickest in the northwest and close to the Greenland coast. However, even at the height of the ice season (March–April) fast ice is not stable, large leads developing with the passage of depressions across the area. Winds also cause the development of pressure ridges, rafting and hummocking.

Break-up of the sea ice starts in the southeast due to the effect of winds and the relatively warm current, while break-up in the northwest starts around the North Water polynya at the southern end of Nares Strait (Fig. 1). Generally speaking, apart from the coastal area, eastern Baffin Bay is ice-free by the middle of August, and by mid-September ice-free conditions have spread across most of Baffin Bay. From mid-October new ice begins to spread across the area, covering all but the southeasternmost part of the area by early November. It must be emphasised, however, that there is a considerable year-to-year variation in the behaviour of the sea ice and the time of break-up and freeze-up, as can be seen from Figs 21 and 23.

Multi-year ice in Baffin Bay is derived from Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean and is virtually confined to the western part of the area.

Icebergs of all sizes are very numerous in Baffin Bay, but are very unevenly distributed across the area.

All the icebergs originate from glaciers descending to the sea from the Greenland Inland Ice, the vast majority from glaciers between Disko Bay and Kap York in northern West Greenland.

The size of the icebergs encountered in Baffin Bay varies from a few metres high and a few tens of metres across to more that 100 m high and a kilometre or more in length. The largest icebergs have masses exceeding one hundred million tons, and their draughts may exceed 400 m.

The distribution of icebergs in Baffin Bay is governed by their origin from West Greenland glaciers and the pattern of ocean currents in the area. On emerging from the fjords, most icebergs drift north or northwestwards along the Greenland coast before crossing the northern part of the bay into the path of the Baffin coast current which takes them southwards to the Labrador shelf and beyond. Some icebergs, however, get caught up in westwards-branching eddies and drift across Baffin Bay along more southerly tracks. Once an iceberg escapes from the northwards-flowing coastal current, its drift pattern can be very erratic (Fig. 29).

As a consequence of the drift pattern described, by far the greatest concentration of icebergs is within 50 km of the Greenland coast (Figs 27 and 28). Farther offshore icebergs become more dispersed, and more than 150 km from the coast they are only occasionally encountered.

Research Links

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Baffin Bay - Britannica.com
... Baffin Bay's oval floor is fringed by the submarine shelves of Greenland and Canada
and by ledges at the mouths of sounds. Apart from the central pit, depths ...

Baffin Bay
... The Baffin Bay is located between Greenland and Baffin Island it is a ice-clogged
body of water with hazardous icebergs. Start your search on Baffin Bay. ...

Baffin Bay
... Baffin Bay, ice-clogged body of water, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, between Greenland
and NE Canada. It connects with the Arctic Ocean to the north and west and ...

Baffin Bay. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English ...
... SYLLABICATION: Baffin Bay. An ice-clogged body of water between northeast Canada
and Greenland. It connects with the Arctic Ocean to the north and west and with ...

Polar Exposure: Environmental Threats to Arctic Marine Life ...
... The JCCMNB forecasted that if the hunt continues at 1990s levels, the West Greenland
portion of the Baffin Bay population of belugas will be depleted. However ...

Nature Science Update
... with a reduced level of this particular form of neodymium is the sea around Baffin
Bay and Greenland, which suggests that, about 3 or 4 million years ago, the ...

Greenland
... Sonderholm cited the northern part of Baffin Bay and the Greenland Sea to the northeast
as two other prospective areas that could be licensed in future. However ...

Start your search on Baffin Bay.

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