Annual Temperature Curves in Twelve Regions of the Gulf of Maine 1985–2013
Ernest D. True
Department of Mathematics, Norwich University Northfield, Vermont 05663, USA
TRUE, E. 2017. Annual Temperature Curves in Twelve Regions of the Gulf of Maine 1985–2013. NAFO Scientific Council Studies, 48: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.2960/S.v48.m1
Abstract
Annual Temperature Curves in Twelve Regions of the Gulf of Maine 1985–2013 Ernest D. True Department of Mathematics, Norwich University Northfield, Vermont 05663, USA TRUE, E. 2017. Annual Temperature Curves in Twelve Regions of the Gulf of Maine 1985–2013. Scientific Council Studies, 48: 1–11. doi:10.2960/S.v48.m1 Abstract Annual temperature functions have been constructed from historical ocean station data (OSD), expendable bathythermograph (XBT) and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) temperature data collected in the Gulf of Maine during the years 1985–2013. The data, from WOD13, was compiled by the Ocean Climate Laboratory (OCL) of the National Oceanographic Data Center/NOAA (NODC). The Gulf of Maine is divided into 12 regions where annual temperature variability may be compared among coastal regions, banks and basins. For each of the 12 regions, annual temperature functions, which are truncated Fourier series, are constructed for a surface layer of 0–30 m and an intermediate layer of 30–70 m. These annual temperature functions are used as benchmarks over this 28 year period so that annual temperature fluctuations can be compared with the historical data of each region. Tables are presented from which the temperature functions may be reproduced, and include the days of the year at which the temperatures obtained an annual maximum and minimum so that annual warming and cooling cycles can be compared among the regions. This work is a continuation of an earlier article in which the same temperature functions were constructed from the NODC data during the period 1912–1983. In most of the 12 regions, the mean annual temperatures for the period 1985–2013 are slightly higher than those of the period 1912–1983. Keywords: annual temperature curves, banks, basins, Gulf of Maine, water masses
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