Background for image above from Jim Bisagni's website in 1998 (see also T Mavor). Lighter blue through yellow to red areas indicate increased annual probability of a persistent thermal front. Scallop data from NOAA R/V Albatross IV annual Sea Scallop Survey 1982-1996 conducted by NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center. 3-D Surfer plot of same scallop data.

Animated monthly plots of SST position starting with January,
(scanned from: Mavor and Bisgani, Deep Sea Research II, 48:215-243)

A cross section of the frontal boundary along the Southwest Part developed from work performed during the GLOBEC Program by Lough and Oberlander. A second image presents locations and timing for larval and newly settled cod and haddock. (Source, GLOBEC brochure)

There is substantial evidence that there is a similar but more variable structure along the Mid Atlantic shelf, visible in monthly binned SST images from GOES satellites (T. Mavor, NWS 2005). This structure is intuitive if you consider the northerly flow of the Gulf Stream and the southerly countercurrent closer to the shore. Note the greater spatial variability than that exhibited in the Georges Bank region. Similar analysis of SST was performed along the US westcoast and reported in this University of California San Diego Sea Grant publication in 2005.

Bumpus (1965) released tagged neutrally bouyant bottom drifters along the Mid Atlantic shelf. The tags asked fishermen to note the position and date where found. Resultant plots showed those released inshore of ~forty fathoms were generally taken south and west, those originally released beyond that approximate depth were swept further offshore.

Image below from South Atlantic Bight Recruitment Experiment (Werner et al (1999) is apparently contradictory, however does not have the resolution to depict small scale current direction. See www.ccpo.odu.edu/~wheless/sabre.html

A recent USGS study in the Hudson Canyon area found that, contrary to expectation, there is a slight 'uphill' current along the bottom of the outer canyon trench.

NASA Convergence Zone link.

Additional information on surface flow available from Yan, X.-H., and L.C. Breaker (1993), Surface circulation estimation using image processing and computer vision methods applied to sequential satellite imagery, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 59:3, pp407-413.

Short reference list on cod settlement, provided by Mark Tupper.

This project developed during coursework at the Digital Geography Lab, Salem State College and the Institute of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, and was encouraged by being included in very preliminary form in the ICES Physical-Biological Interactions Section meeting, Johns Hopkins, 1997. My thanks to all who have contributed along the way.