Evolution of an oceanic anticyclone in the lee of Madeira Island: In situ and remote sensing survey

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
• Main Authors: Caldeira, Rui M. A., Stegner, Alexandre, Couvelard, Xavier, Araújo, Isabel B., Testor, Pierre, Lorenzo, Alvaro
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research Matosinhos, Portugal (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto = University of Porto, Variabilité de l'Océan et de la Glace de mer (VOG), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PLOCAN-Plataforma Oceanica de Canarias, PLOCAN
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: intrathermocline eddies; mode water; mixed layer; boundary-layer; inertial instability; wake; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph]; [SDU.STU.GP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph]; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00991680; https://hal.science/hal-00991680/document; https://hal.science/hal-00991680/file/2013JC009493.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JC009493

International audience wakes are areas of a strong eddy activity influencing the availability and transport of organic matter in the ocean which, in turn impact biological productivity. Despite this, eddy formation in the lee of North Atlantic tropical islands is scarcely documented, except for the Canary Islands. Moreover, the occurrence of anticyclones leeward of Madeira has seldom been detected. During the summer of 2011, a multiplatform approach, combining satellite data with in situ measurements, was used to study an anticyclonic eddy generated in the lee of the Madeira Island. The main objective was to confirm recent numerical evidence suggesting that orographically perturbed winds can induce anticyclonic eddies leeward of Madeira, particularly during summer months. The high resolution sampling of the eddy's interior shows a strong downwelling of ≈100 m of the isopycnal layer below the mixed layer, typical of intrathermocline eddies. The 25 km radius of this anticyclonic structure exceeds the local deformation radius by a factor of 2. The vortex Rossby number remained moderate (Ro = 0.26) even if the relative core vorticity reached a finite value (ζ/f = -0.7). The occurrence of strong trade winds (10-15 m s -1 ) prior to the detection of the first surface eddy signatures (July 2011) concurrent with opposite flowing geostrophic currents, shows that the orographic wind forcing is the main mechanism for generating this mesoscale long-lived eddy. After leaving the shelter of the island, the eddy traveled northwesterly following a perpendicular net Ekman transport pathway at a speed of 5 km/d, for at least 2 months. An interaction with a cyclonic partner generated in the area helped precipitate the northward trajectory. This study presents the first clear evidence of a wind-induced mesoscale anticyclone in the lee of Madeira.