Open AccessOn the Linear Relationship between Loop Current Retreat Latitude and Eddy Separation Period
Author(s) -
Alexis Lugo-Fernández,
R. R. Leben
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of physical oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1520-0485
pISSN - 0022-3670
DOI - 10.1175/2010jpo4354.1
Subject(s) - altimeter , latitude , scaling , current (fluid) , separation (statistics) , climatology , loop (graph theory) , geology , geodesy , vorticity , meteorology , physics , vortex , mathematics , statistics , geometry , oceanography , combinatorics
A linear correlation exists between the retreat latitude of the Loop Current following eddy separation and the subsequent eddy separation period. This empirical relationship was first identified in satellite altimeter-derived Loop Current metrics. In this paper, a simple vorticity model of the Loop Current is used to provide a semitheoretical basis for this relationship. After suitable scaling approximations, the theory predicts that the LC separation period is a linear function of retreat latitude, which agrees well with altimeter-derived empirical results. Specifically, the predicted slope and y intercept agree to within 9% and 2%, respectively, with the altimetry-derived values.