The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders
The Gulf Stream, the western boundary current of the subtropical North Atlantic, plays a key role in the Earth’s climate system with its poleward volume and heat transports being major components of the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Extensive observations collected u...
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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ftmit:oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139963 2023-06-11T04:05:05+02:00 The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders Heiderich, Joleen Todd, Robert E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences 2021-10-19T13:40:23.464Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139963 unknown Massachusetts Institute of Technology https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139963 orcid:0000-0002-5347-8329 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ Thesis 2021 ftmit 2023-05-29T08:39:34Z The Gulf Stream, the western boundary current of the subtropical North Atlantic, plays a key role in the Earth’s climate system with its poleward volume and heat transports being major components of the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Extensive observations collected using Spray autonomous underwater gliders from 2004 through 2020 fill a 1500-km-long gap in longer-term sustained subsurface measurements of the Gulf Stream. The gliders provide concurrent, high-resolution measurements of Gulf Stream hydrography and velocity over more than 15 degrees of latitude between Florida and New England. These observations are used to characterize the along-stream evolution of Gulf Stream volume transport; its long-known poleward increase is shown to result primarily from entrainment of subthermocline waters. Antarctic Intermediate Water, which makes up the deepest waters within the Gulf Stream in the Florida Strait, is eroded through both vertical mixing and lateral stirring as it flows downstream. Satellite-based observations of sea surface height coincident with the glider observations are used to evaluate the efficacy of inferring Gulf Stream transport from remotely sensed measurements. The detailed analyses of Gulf Stream transport and water property evolution herein provide targets for regional and global circulation models to replicate. Ph.D. Thesis Antarc* Antarctic North Atlantic DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Antarctic |
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description |
The Gulf Stream, the western boundary current of the subtropical North Atlantic, plays a key role in the Earth’s climate system with its poleward volume and heat transports being major components of the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Extensive observations collected using Spray autonomous underwater gliders from 2004 through 2020 fill a 1500-km-long gap in longer-term sustained subsurface measurements of the Gulf Stream. The gliders provide concurrent, high-resolution measurements of Gulf Stream hydrography and velocity over more than 15 degrees of latitude between Florida and New England. These observations are used to characterize the along-stream evolution of Gulf Stream volume transport; its long-known poleward increase is shown to result primarily from entrainment of subthermocline waters. Antarctic Intermediate Water, which makes up the deepest waters within the Gulf Stream in the Florida Strait, is eroded through both vertical mixing and lateral stirring as it flows downstream. Satellite-based observations of sea surface height coincident with the glider observations are used to evaluate the efficacy of inferring Gulf Stream transport from remotely sensed measurements. The detailed analyses of Gulf Stream transport and water property evolution herein provide targets for regional and global circulation models to replicate. Ph.D. |
author2 |
Todd, Robert E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Heiderich, Joleen |
spellingShingle |
Heiderich, Joleen The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
author_facet |
Heiderich, Joleen |
author_sort |
Heiderich, Joleen |
title |
The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
title_short |
The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
title_full |
The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
title_fullStr |
The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Gulf Stream: Along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
title_sort |
gulf stream: along-stream evolution of volume transport and water properties observed by underwater gliders |
publisher |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139963 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139963 orcid:0000-0002-5347-8329 |
op_rights |
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ |
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1768371658999988224 |