On the long-term stability of the Lofoten Basin Eddy

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
• Main Authors: Søiland, H., Chafik, L., Rossby, T.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@URI 2016
• Subjects: anticyclonic; eddy; Lofoten Basin; Norwegian Sea; Lofoten; Nordic Seas
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2242; https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC011726

In recent years, several studies have identified an area of intense anticyclonic activity about 500 km straight west of the Lofoten Islands at 70°N in the northern Norwegian Sea. Now recognized as the coherent Lofoten Basin Eddy (LBE), it is maintained by a supply of anticyclonic eddies that break away from the Norwegian Atlantic Current. Here we show from ship-based surveys of its velocity field that it is quite stable with a central core in solid body rotation ∼1000 m deep, ∼8 km radius, and a relative vorticity close to its theoretical limit –f. The surveys also show the LBE typically has a >60 km radius with maximum swirl velocities at 17–20 km radius. From the velocity field, we estimate the dynamic height amplitude at the surface to be about ∼0.21 ± 0.03 dyn. m. Second, altimetry from the last 20 years shows the extremum in sea surface height relative to the surrounding waters to be about the same, 0.2 dyn. m. Third, a float trapped in the LBE for many months reveals a clear cyclonic wandering of the eddy over the deepest parts of the basin. Last, three hydrographic sections from the 1960s show the dynamic height signal to be virtually the same then as it is now. From these observations, we conclude that the LBE is a permanent feature of the Nordic Seas and plays a central role in maintaining the pool of warm water in the western Lofoten Basin.