Ice and ocean mooring data statistics from Barrow Strait, the central section of the NW Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Since August 1998, personnel from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography have deployed year-long moorings in Barrow Strait of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) to monitor the seasonal and inter-annual variabilities of ocean and pack ice parameters. Data from these moorings provide statistics on ice drafts and on ocean and ice velocities. This statistical information is presented here for bi-monthly subsets of the total eight year time series. Maximum ocean and ice velocities of 150cm/sec were observed and ice drafts of up to 22m. The 8-yr bi-monthly mean currents were stronger along the southern shore (15cm/sec) where most of Arctic surface waters pass eastwards through the Barrow Strait. KEY WORDS: ADCP and ULS mooring data, Canadian Arcti