| During the October-November 1977 R/V "Jean Charcot" cruise, bathymetric and hydrological surveys of the Eastern Vema Fracture Zone were carried out in order to moor current meters on the silliocated in the area, with the aim of evaluating the bottom water flow through this passage in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The sill zone in fact comprises a succession of three secondary sills situated between 40052'W and 41°02'W at about 10048'N, at depths ranging from 4600 to 4700 m. Westward of the sills, there is a thick (750-950 m) bottom water layer of Antarctic origin. The potential temperature found at the bottom is 1. 30°C. In the sill zone, the homogeneous layer is thinner and has a potential temperature of 1.40°C. Eastward of the sills, the homogeneous layer is... |
