Application of Aerosondes to high-resolution observations of sea surface temperature over Barrow Canyon

[1] Continuous observation of sea surface temperature (SST) were obtained for a period of 27 hours over Barrow Canyon on 20–21 September 2002 using a small robotic aircraft called the Aerosonde. These observations demonstrated significant spatial and temporal variations in the SST at scales that would be very difficult to measure using mooring and satellite observations. Over a region of 25 km, SST values varied from 1–6 C. A sharp SST front with a temperature gradient of 3 C was observed over the northwestern shelf of Barrow Canyon, which moved northward during the observation period. Relatively cold water was transported from the southwest into the region. Current speeds were estimated using the time series of observations. This analysis demonstrates new technology for oceanographic observations and supports previous evidence that the flow through Barrow Canyon has a strongly sheared flow into the Arctic Ocean.