A Tomographic View of the Gulf Stream Southern Recirculation Gyre at 38N̊, 55W̊

A Tomographic View of the Gulf Stream Southern Recirculation Gyre at 38N̊, 55W̊
Author: David Brian Chester
Publisher:
Total Pages: 586
Release: 1993
Genre: Gulf Stream
ISBN:

Reciprocal acoustic transmissions made in a region just south of the Gulf Stream are analyzed to determine the structure and variability of temperature, current velocity, and vorticity fields at the northern extent of the southern recirculation gyre. For ten months (November, 1988 through August, 1989), a pentagonal array of tomographic transceivers was situated in a region centered at 38°N, 55°W as part of the eastern array of the SYNOP (SYNoptic Ocean Prediction) Experiment. The region of focus is one rich in mesoscale energy, with the influence of local Gulf Stream meandering and cold-core ring activity strikingly evident. Daily-averaged acoustic transmissions yielded travel times which were inverted to obtain estimates of range-averaged temperature and current velocity fields, and area-averaged relative vorticity fields. The acoustically determined estimates are consistent with nearby current meter measurements and satellite infrared imagery. The signature of cold-core rings is clearly evident in the sections. Spectral estimates of the fields are dominated by motions with periodicities ranging from 32-128 days. Second-order statistics, such as eddy kinetic energies, and heat and momentum fluxes, are also estimated. The integrating nature of the tomographic measurement has been exploited to shed some light on the radiation of eddy energy from the Gulf Stream. The Eliassen-Palm flux diagnostic has been applied to an investigation of wave radiation from the Gulf Stream. Results of the diagnosis suggest that the Gulf Stream itself is the source of wave energy radiating into the far field and found in the interior of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.

A Tomographic View of the Gulf Stream Southern Recirculation Gyre at 38 Deg N, 55 Deg W.

A Tomographic View of the Gulf Stream Southern Recirculation Gyre at 38 Deg N, 55 Deg W.
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 169
Release: 1993
Genre:
ISBN:

Reciprocal acoustic transmissions made in a region just south of the Gulf Stream are analyzed to determine the structure and variability of temperature, current velocity, and vorticity fields at the northern extent of the southern recirculation gyre. A pentagonal array of tomographic transceivers was situated in a region centered at 38 deg N, 55 deg W from November, 1988 to August, 1989. Daily-averaged acoustic transmissions yielded travel times which were inverted to obtain estimates of range-averaged temperature and current velocity fields, and area-averaged relative vorticity fields. The acoustically determined estimates are consistent with current meter measurements and satellite infrared imagery. The signature of cold-core rings is clearly evident in the sections. Spectral estimates of the fields are dominated by motions with periodicities ranging from 32-128 days. Second-order statistics, such as eddy kinetic energies, and heat and momentum fluxes, are also estimated. The integrating nature of the tomographic measurement has been exploited to shed some light on the radiation of eddy energy from the Gulf Stream. Results of a diagnosis in terms of Eliassen-Palm flux vectors suggest that the Gulf Stream is the source of wave energy radiating into the far field and found in the interior of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Gulf Stream southern recirculation gyre, Acoustic tomography, Gulf Stream.

The Entrainment and Homogenization of Tracers Within the Cyclonic Gulf Stream Recirculation Gyre

The Entrainment and Homogenization of Tracers Within the Cyclonic Gulf Stream Recirculation Gyre
Author: Robert S. Pickart
Publisher:
Total Pages: 210
Release: 1987
Genre: Gulf Stream
ISBN:

The distributions of tracer associated with the Northern Recirculation Gyre of the Gulf Stream (NRG) are studied to try to obtain information about the flow. An advective-diffusive numerical model is used whose streamlines consist of a gyre situated alongside a boundary current which inputs tracer into the domain. This is meant to simulate the lateral transfer of properties from the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) to the NRG. Tracer is entrained into the model gyre as a plume which spirals across the streamlines, the characteristics of which depend on the flow parameters. Homogenization occurs at steady state, consistent with recently collected tracer data. The presence of vertical mixing is considered in an attempt to explain a difference between salinity and oxygen observed in the data. Comparison of the model results to the oxygen data is favorable, and leads to an estimate of the lateral and vertical diffusivity. The time dependent nature of freon is addressed using a coupled model of the deep water overflow process, advection-mixing in the DWBC, and subsequent entrainment into the NRG. Comparison with the data shows that very little freon has accumulated in the NRG, and that these processes effect the freon-11:freon-12 ratio as well. Keywords: Gulf Stream recirculation. (Theses).