A quasi-synoptic survey of the thermocline circulation and water mass distribution within the Canary Basin

Shipboard hydrographic measurements and moored current meters are used to infer both the large-scale and mesoscale water mass distribution and features of the general circulation in the Canary Basin. We found a convoluted current system dominated by the time-dependent meandering of the eastward flow...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research
Main Authors: Käse, Rolf H., Price, James F., Richardson, Philip L., Zenk, Walter
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: AGU (American Geophysical Union) 1986
Subjects:
Labrador Sea
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/32812/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/32812/1/Zenk_Quasi.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1029/JC091iC08p09739
Description
Summary:Shipboard hydrographic measurements and moored current meters are used to infer both the large-scale and mesoscale water mass distribution and features of the general circulation in the Canary Basin. We found a convoluted current system dominated by the time-dependent meandering of the eastward flowing Azores Current and the formation of mesoscale eddies. At middepths, several distinctly different water masses are identified: Subpolar Mode and Labrador Sea Water are centered in the northwest, Subantarctic Intermediate Water is centered in the southeast, and the saltier, warmer Mediterranean tongue lies between them. Mesoscale structures of these water masses suggest the presence of middepth meanders and detached eddies which may be caused by fluctuations of the Azores Current.

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