Seasonal Changes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
The eastern part of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre is found in the region between the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. A study of the gyre structure in the area east of 35°W between 8°N and 41°N is presented. The geostrophic flow field determined from historical temperature-salinity data sets...
| Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AGU (American Geophysical Union)
1988
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/15384/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/15384/1/JC093iC07p08111.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/JC093iC07p08111 |
| Summary: | The eastern part of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre is found in the region between the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. A study of the gyre structure in the area east of 35°W between 8°N and 41°N is presented. The geostrophic flow field determined from historical temperature-salinity data sets by objective analysis indicates seasonal variations in shape but no significant changes in the magnitude of volume transports. The eastern part of the gyre has a larger east-west and smaller north-south extension in summer compared with the winter season. The center shifts by about 2° latitude to the south from winter to summer. Long-term temperature time series (6.5 years) from a mooring near the Azores are consistent with these results, showing always a consistent temperature increase at the beginning of the year which is apparently due to the displacement of the northeastern part of the gyre. A comparison between the mean flow fields and fields obtained from individual zonal sections indicates large deviations north and south of the gyre but small deviations within the gyre. |
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