Bass Strait water intrusions in the Tasman Sea and mean temperature-salinity curves

Abstract

At temperatures of 8-18ºC mean temperature-salinity curves for the Tasman Sea show slightly higher salinities in the south than in the north. It is shown that this is the effect of intrusions of Bass Strait Water which enters the Tasman Sea predominantly in winter and can be traced in individual stations over distances of 600 nautical miles along the shelf edge and 200 nautical miles offshore. The paths of individual intrusions and the degree of mixing are highly variable and seem to depend, among other factors, on the path of the East Australian Current and its eddies. This is interpreted as an indication that the eddies may play a major role in the formation of the water-mass characteristics of the Tasman Sea.