The first European visitor to explore the bay was , an English sea captain, in.... baffin ic

The climate is severe, especially in winter, when northeast winds blow off Baffin Island (in the south) and in the bay's northern sector. January temperatures average -4 F (-20 C) in the south and -18 F (-28 C) farther north, but the warm, dry foehn winds that sweep down from the valleys containing Greenland's glaciers sometimes cause winter thaws. are dense even in August; the ice cover is formed from Arctic pack ice entering through the northern sounds, from local sea ice, and from icebergs that have broken off adjacent glaciers. By late October, ice fields reach (between Baffin Island and the Quebec mainland), a region where coastal ice has already been thickening, mostly near Greenland, where prevailing easterly winds make for sheltered conditions. The centre of Baffin Bay is covered with compounded ice in winter, but in the north there is actually a permanent ice-free area (the northern water) that may be related to the warming effect of the West Greenland Current. The ! salinity of Arctic waters flowing into Baffin Bay ranges from 30.0 to 32.7 parts per thousand, and their temperature warms up to 41 F (5 C) on the surface in summer, cooling in winter to 29 F (-2 C). Near Baffin Island and the shores of Greenland the tidal range is about 13 feet (4 m), reaching as much as 30 feet (9 m) where the water is forced through narrow passages. The dissolution of salts in the water and the warming effect of southerly currents make Baffin Bay a haven for myriad life-forms. Among the fish found in Baffin Bay are the Arctic flounder, four-horned sculpin (a spiny, large-headed, broad-mouthed fish), polar cod, and capelin (a small fish of the smelt family).