A summary of hydrographic observations for 11 surveys on the northeast continental shelf during 2000 is presented. Distributions of station position, surface and bottom temperature, salinity, and anomalies are portrayed. The average surface and bottom temperatures and salinities have been calculated in five geographic regions over the northeast continental shelf: western Gulf of Maine (GOMW), eastern Gulf of Maine (GOME), Georges Bank (GB), northern Middle Atlantic Bight (MABN) and southern Middle Atlantic Bight (MABS). Time series plots from various shipboard environmental sensors are included for each survey. Temperature conditions during the spring and early summer were warmer than the expected temperatures derived from the MARMAP reference period (1977-1987). Data from the fall bottom trawl survey indicated that the warmer temperatures did not persist into September and October. Instead the shelf temperatures had cooled to near, or slightly below, expected values. Salinity data collected in the Gulf of Maine during the November Ecosystem Monitoring survey suggest that there was an increased inflow of Scotian shelf water during the previous month that resulted in fresher conditions than what was observed during the fall bottom trawl survey.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)