Tides and currents in Fury and Hecla Strait

Under-ice current measurements reveal a homogeneous flow of water along Fury and Hecla Strait; it had a westward direction during the passage, over Igloolik, of low pressure cells in the atmosphere and an eastward direction at other times. It is presumed that barometric pressure differences between the Gulf of Boothia and Foxe Basin control partly the direction of the flow. The diurnal and semidiurnal components of the tidal currents also have a simple structure across the section of measurements. The subtidal and tidal components of the current all have the same order of magnitude, namely some 15 cm/s. The vertical tide progresses eastward; the diurnal component diminshhes abruptly once it enters Foxe Basin while the semidiurnal component increases steadily, its mean amplitude rising from 48 to 68 cm between the two extremities of the channel. Convective and frictional effects are evident in the water level records, indicating marked non-linear effects in the tides and currents, an eastward decrease in the diurnal currents and an increase in the semidiurnal ones.