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Submesoscale cyclones in the Agulhas current
Author(s) -
Krug M.,
Swart S.,
Gula J.
Publication year - 2017
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 - 10.1002/2016gl071006
Subject(s) - boundary current , geology , eddy , current (fluid) , oceanography , front (military) , climatology , ocean current , meteorology , turbulence , geography
Gliders were deployed for the first time in the Agulhas Current region to investigate processes of interactions between western boundary currents and shelf waters. Continuous observations from the gliders in water depths of 100–1000 m and over a period of 1 month provide the first high‐resolution observations of the Agulhas Current's inshore front. The observations collected in a nonmeandering Agulhas Current show the presence of submesoscale cyclonic eddies, generated at the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current. The submesoscale cyclones are often associated with warm water plumes, which extend from their western edge and exhibit strong northeastward currents. These features are a result of shear instabilities and extract their energy from the mean Agulhas Current jet.