Spatial Variability of Movement, Structure, and Formation of Warm Core Rings in the Northwest Atlantic Slope Sea
Name
JGR Oceans - 2022 - Silver - Spatial Variability of Movement Structure and Formation of Warm Core Rings in the Northwest.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
2.82 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Silver, Adrienne
Gangopadhyay, Avijit
Gawarkiewicz, Glen
Andres, Magdalena
Flierl, Glenn
Clark, Jenifer
Date Issued
August 16, 2022
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Silver, A., Gangopadhyay, A., Gawarkiewicz, G., Andres, M., Flierl, G., & Clark, J. (2022). Spatial variability of movement, structure, and formation of warm core rings in the Northwest Atlantic Slope Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 127, e2022JC018737.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Gulf Stream Warm Core Rings (WCRs) have important influences on the New England Shelf and marine ecosystems. A 10‐year (2011–2020) WCR dataset that tracks weekly WCR locations and surface areas is used here to identify the rings' path and characterize their movement between 55 and 75°W. The WCR dataset reveals a very narrow band between 66 and 71°W along which rings travel almost due west along ∼39°N across isobaths – the “Ring Corridor.” Then, west of the corridor, the mean path turns southwestward, paralleling the shelfbreak. The average ring translation speed along the mean path is 5.9 cm s−1. Long‐lived rings (lifespan >150 days) tend to occupy the region west of the New England Seamount Chain (NESC) whereas short‐lived rings (lifespan <150 days) tend to be more broadly distributed. WCR vertical structures, analyzed using available Argo float profiles indicate that rings that are formed to the west of the NESC have shallower thermoclines than those formed to the east. This tendency may be due to different WCR formation processes that are observed to occur along different sections of the Gulf Stream. WCRs formed to the east of the NESC tend to form from a pinch‐off mechanism incorporating cores of Sargasso Sea water and a perimeter of Gulf Stream water. WCRs that form to the west of the NESC, form from a process called an aneurysm. WCRs formed through aneurysms comprise water mostly from the northern half of the Gulf Stream and are smaller than the classic pinch‐off rings.
MIT Department
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
10.1029/2022jc018737
