Open AccessObservations of intermittent deep currents and eddies in the Gulf of Mexico
Author(s) -
Kolodziejczyk Nicolas,
Ochoa José,
Candela Julio,
Sheinbaum Julio
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2012jc007890
Subject(s) - anticyclone , eddy , current (fluid) , cyclone (programming language) , barotropic fluid , geology , climatology , oceanography , vorticity , ocean current , meteorology , geography , vortex , turbulence , field programmable gate array , computer science , computer hardware
Intense currents having speeds between 10 and 40 cm.s −1 from 1000 m below the surface to the bottom have been measured in the Loop Current (LC) region and in the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGM). The observations come from moored current meters sampling from the near‐surface to the bottom at 3300–3500 m and from August 2008 to August 2010. Ten intermittent intensified currents are documented. These events last 10 to 30 days and take place in the region just between the surface‐intensified anticyclonic‐cyclonic features, as deduced from altimetry and measured currents. In the WGM, they occur between the cores of anticyclone‐cyclone pairs. In the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (EGM), they occur in the Loop Current edge between its anticyclonic circulation and a neighboring cyclone. During each event, the analysis shows an increase in the barotropic contribution to the current. In the Loop Current region, these events are often associated with intensification of cyclonic vorticity in the deep layer.