Characterizing mesoscale eddies in the Labrador Sea based on data from moored observations

• Main Author: Kunst, Tobias
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Course of study: MSc Climate Physics; Labrador Sea
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/59375/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/59375/1/Kunst_1105582.pdf

In the Labrador Sea, mesoscale eddies have been identified as a major exchange agent between the fast flowing boundary currents and the quiescent interior Labrador Sea. This way, the eddies contribute to heat, freshwater and property fluxes and impact deep convection and carbon uptake. It is therefore of interest to carefully analyse the occurrence, dynamics and water mass characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the Labrador Sea. Here, four years of moored instrument time series data are analyzed for eddy occurrences. A semi-automatic method for eddy detection in moored velocity data was developed and the eddie’s time series data were fit to a Rankine vortex model in order to estimate eddy characteristics. Over the four years, three cyclonic and seven anticyclonic eddies have been detected with this method. Surprisingly, most eddies differ in their characteristics and structures from the eddies reported in earlier studies, namely Irminger Rings, Convective Eddies, and Boundary Current Eddies. In particular, no Irminger Ring was found but a cyclonic, bottom-intensified warm core eddy, which has not been reported in this area before.