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Shallow and Deep Eastern Boundary Currents in the South Atlantic at 34.5°S: Mean Structure and Variability
Author(s) -
Kersalé Marion,
Perez Renellys C.,
Speich Sabrina,
Meinen Christopher S.,
Lamont Tarron,
Le Hénaff Matthieu,
Berg Marcel A.,
Majumder Sudip,
Ansorge Isabelle J.,
Dong Shenfu,
Schmid Claudia,
Terre Thierry,
Garzoli Silvia L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1029/2018jc014554
Subject(s) - geology , boundary current , submarine pipeline , hydrography , oceanography , north atlantic deep water , current (fluid) , deep water , geostrophic wind , gulf stream , deep sea , continental shelf , water column , ocean current , climatology
The first in situ continuous full‐water‐column observations of the eastern boundary currents (EBCs) at 34.5 ° S in the South Atlantic are obtained using 23 months of data from a line of Current and Pressure recording Inverted Echo Sounders (CPIES) spanning the Cape Basin. The CPIES are used to evaluate the mean structure of the EBC, the associated water masses, and the volume transport variability. The estimated northward time‐mean Benguela Current absolute geostrophic transport is 24 Sv, with a temporal standard deviation of 17 Sv. Beneath this current the time‐mean transport is southward, indicating the presence of a deep‐EBC (DEBC), with a time‐mean transport of 12 Sv, and a standard deviation of 17 Sv. Offshore of these currents, the shallow and deep flows are more variable with weak time means, likely influenced by Agulhas Rings transiting through the region. Hydrographic data collected along the CPIES line demonstrate that the DEBC is carrying recently ventilated North Atlantic Deep Water, as it flows along the continental slope. This is consistent with a previously hypothesized interior pathway bringing recently ventilated North Atlantic Deep Water from the Deep Western Boundary Current across the Atlantic to the Cape Basin. The observations further indicate that much of the DEBC must recirculate within the basin. Spectral analyses of the shallow and deep EBC transport time series demonstrate that the strongest variability occurs on timescales ranging from 30 to 90 days, associated with the propagation of Agulhas Rings.