This project is a study of the seasonal variability and long term change of the upper ocean structure of the Drake Passage. It consists of high density sections obtained on each crossing by the U.S. Antarctic Program's research vessel Laurence M. Gould, using expendable bathythermographs, supplemented by expendable conductivity-temperature-depth probes. This information will lead to the establishment of a high quality data base with which to study the magnitude and depth of penetration of the seasonal signals, connections to atmospheric forcing, and the effects of interannual variations such as those associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave. These sections will supplement the approximately twenty sections have been obtained since September 1996. The probes are launched by the scientific shipboard personnel on each cruise. The continuing data analysis is carried out in cooperation with the Argentine Antarctic Institute in Buenos Aires. ***
