* Corresponding author. Fax: 0034-93-401-1861. E-mail address: garcial@etseccpb.upc.es (M.A. Garcm H a) Deep-Sea Research I 46 (1999) 1755}1778 Hydrographic and hydrodynamic characteristics of the eastern basin of the Brans"eld Strait (Antarctica) O. Lo H pez, M.A. Garcm H a*, D. Gomis, P. Rojas, J. Sospedra, A. Sa H nchez-Arcilla Laboratori d'Enginyeria Marn & tima, E.T.S. d'Enginyers de Camins, Canals i Ports, Universitat Polite % cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain Departament de Fn & sica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avanc 7 ats, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), 07071 Palma de Mallorca, Spain Received 14 October 1997; received in revised form 2 October 1998; accepted 17 December 1998 Abstract Hydrographic station and current meter data are used to estimate circulation and transport in the eastern basin of the Brans"eld Strait. The short distance between adjacent hydrographic stations (20 km) allows evaluation of structures at scales seldom addressed in previous studies. The main feature of the derived circulation is the Brans"eld Front and its associated baroclinic jet (the Brans"eld Current). This frontal current crosses the northern half of the basin in a generally SW}NE direction, has maximum geostrophic speeds of 22 cm s (at the jet entrance), and has geostrophic transport relative to 500 dbar estimated to be 1 Sv. Dynamically signi"cant mesoscale features associated with the Brans"eld Current are seen to be relevant down to 500 dbar. Speci"c aspects inferred from our analysis are the apparent high degree of stationarity of the described circulation, the shallow intrusions of Circumpolar Deep Water through the northern boundary of the domain (from the Drake Passage), and the northward sinking of Weddell Sea water over most of the domain.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The Brans"eld Strait is a semi-enclosed sea ca. 50,000 km in extent, which is bounded by the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. From the 0967-0637/99/$ - see front matter  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 6 7 - 0 6 3 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 1 7 - 5