Préfacé
The era of the exploration of the World Océan is not yet over: some areas still lack
an adéquate number of observations. The relationships between the physical,
Chemical and biological processes, which sustain the life on this planet, are not yet
fully understood. In short, knowledge of the océans is still far from satisfactory.
This book covers an important period in the study of one of the last investigated
areas of the World Océan: the Ross Sea, Antarctica. During the 1990s, long-term
experiments were conducted in this area as part of the Climatic Long-term
Interaction for the Mass balance in Antarctica (CLIMA) project of the Italian
National Programme for Antarctic Research (PNRA), providing a wealth of
océanographie information. This book is an outcome of the CLIMA field observations and international collaborations with the most important programmes in
the Ross Sea-Southern Océan area. It contributes to the studies of the spatial and
temporal variability of Ross Sea water masses and circulation and their relationship with the Southern Océan circulation. A comprehensive review of historical
data is offered, and new data sets are analysed.
The studies presented in this book show that much progress has been achieved
during the last decade, but large gaps in our understanding of the physical
processes in the Ross Sea are still to be filled. However, these studies contribute
significantly to the investigation of some spécifie aspects regarding the circulation of the main water masses.
One of the main aspects of the dynamics of the Ross Sea is the considérable
variability over small distance. This poses serious constraints, not easily satisfied,
on sampling criteria for hydrological and current measurements. Furthermore,
the available CTD (Conductivity Température Depth) data are mainly collected
during the austral summer, owing to practical reasons. This, along with the
uneven sampling distribution, obviously makes the use of in situ data for the initialisation and validation of circulation models aimed at simulating and understanding dynamic processes in the area a particularly délicate issue.
The existing data sets also display a marked seasonal and interannual variability, which is typical of limited areas where distinctive water formation and
transformation are occurring. The studies reported in this book show that the
Ross Sea has a complex circulation at ail depths driven by a combination of factors operating on different, but critically related, time scales. Thus, climatological
averages may not be a significant means of characterising the circulation when
the investigation is focused on particular aspects of it. Also considered in this
book are the relationships between the circulation around Antarctica and in the
The era of the exploration of the World Océan is not yet over: some areas still lack
an adéquate number of observations. The relationships between the physical,
Chemical and biological processes, which sustain the life on this planet, are not yet
fully understood. In short, knowledge of the océans is still far from satisfactory.
This book covers an important period in the study of one of the last investigated
areas of the World Océan: the Ross Sea, Antarctica. During the 1990s, long-term
experiments were conducted in this area as part of the Climatic Long-term
Interaction for the Mass balance in Antarctica (CLIMA) project of the Italian
National Programme for Antarctic Research (PNRA), providing a wealth of
océanographie information. This book is an outcome of the CLIMA field observations and international collaborations with the most important programmes in
the Ross Sea-Southern Océan area. It contributes to the studies of the spatial and
temporal variability of Ross Sea water masses and circulation and their relationship with the Southern Océan circulation. A comprehensive review of historical
data is offered, and new data sets are analysed.
The studies presented in this book show that much progress has been achieved
during the last decade, but large gaps in our understanding of the physical
processes in the Ross Sea are still to be filled. However, these studies contribute
significantly to the investigation of some spécifie aspects regarding the circulation of the main water masses.
One of the main aspects of the dynamics of the Ross Sea is the considérable
variability over small distance. This poses serious constraints, not easily satisfied,
on sampling criteria for hydrological and current measurements. Furthermore,
the available CTD (Conductivity Température Depth) data are mainly collected
during the austral summer, owing to practical reasons. This, along with the
uneven sampling distribution, obviously makes the use of in situ data for the initialisation and validation of circulation models aimed at simulating and understanding dynamic processes in the area a particularly délicate issue.
The existing data sets also display a marked seasonal and interannual variability, which is typical of limited areas where distinctive water formation and
transformation are occurring. The studies reported in this book show that the
Ross Sea has a complex circulation at ail depths driven by a combination of factors operating on different, but critically related, time scales. Thus, climatological
averages may not be a significant means of characterising the circulation when
the investigation is focused on particular aspects of it. Also considered in this
book are the relationships between the circulation around Antarctica and in the