Abstract's details

Mesoscale eddies in the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Stream Recirculation Region: Vertical structure

Renato Castelao (University of Georgia, United States)

Event: 2014 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting

Session: Science Results from Satellite Altimetry: Finer scale ocean processes (mesoscale and coastal)

Presentation type: Type Poster

Contribution: not provided

Abstract:

Sea level anomalies from altimeters are combined with decade-long potential temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats to investigate the vertical structure of mesoscale eddies in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) and the Gulf Stream Recirculation region. Eddy detection and eddy tracking algorithms are applied to the satellite observations, and hydrography profiles from floats that surfaced inside eddies are used to construct three-dimensional composites of cyclones and anticyclones. Eddies are characterized by large temperature and salinity anomalies at 500-1000 m depth and near the surface, and by small anomalies at 200-400 m below the surface at the depth of the North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water. Anomalies associated with anticyclones are generally larger and found deeper in the water column compared to those due to the presence of cyclones. Geostrophic velocities around eddies generally exceed their translation speed in the top 1000 m of the water column. As such, these eddies can trap water in their interior as they propagate westward. Combining the volume of water inside eddies above their trapping depths with the number of eddies that propagate into the SAB each year, it is estimated that cyclones and anticyclones transport 3.5±0.9 Sv and 4.1±1.7 Sv onshore toward the Gulf Stream, respectively. The total volume transport of 7.6±2.2 Sv represents an important fraction of previous estimates of the onshore transport in the Gulf Stream Recirculation gyre. Since eddies are characterized by large temperature and salinity anomalies, they also contribute significantly to the onshore transport of heat and salt.
 
Renato Castelao
University of Georgia
United States
castelao@uga.edu