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Nonseasonal mass fluctuations in the midlatitude North Atlantic Ocean
Author(s) -
Piecuch Christopher G.,
Ponte Rui M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl060248
Subject(s) - north atlantic oscillation , ocean gyre , oceanography , geology , climatology , middle latitudes , north atlantic deep water , gulf stream , thermohaline circulation , atlantic multidecadal oscillation , atlantic equatorial mode , arctic dipole anomaly , water mass , arctic , ocean current , subtropics , arctic ice pack , drift ice , fishery , biology
Measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment reveal spatially coherent nonseasonal fluctuations in bottom pressure p b in the midlatitude North Atlantic Ocean. The spatial structure of the p b anomalies is centered on the North Atlantic Current along the intergyre region separating subtropical and subpolar ocean basins, and their temporal behavior is tied to indices of climate variability, namely, the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation. Correspondence to variations in wind stress curl suggests an interpretation of the midlatitude North Atlantic p b variability in terms of a barotropic Sverdrup balance. Anomalous mass in the midlatitude North Atlantic Ocean covaries with mass anomalies in abutting marginal seas, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Arctic Ocean as well as the North Sea and Hudson Bay. Results have implications for diagnosing ocean meridional heat transports due to depth‐independent gyre circulation changes.