Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean
The circulation of water masses in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean has a strong influence on global climate owing to the northward transport of warm subtropical water to high latitudes. But the ocean circulation at depths below the reach of satellite observations is difficult to measure, and o...
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:gsofacpubs-3241 2024-02-11T10:05:59+01:00 Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean Bower, A. S. Le Cann, B. Rossby, T. Zenk, W. Gould, J. Speer, K. Richardson, P. L. Prater, M. D. Zhang, H. M. 2002-10-10T07:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2272 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2272 doi:10.1038/nature01078 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications text 2002 ftunivrhodeislan https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 2024-01-15T19:10:09Z The circulation of water masses in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean has a strong influence on global climate owing to the northward transport of warm subtropical water to high latitudes. But the ocean circulation at depths below the reach of satellite observations is difficult to measure, and only recently have comprehensive, direct observations of whole ocean basins been possible. Here we present quantitative maps of the absolute velocities at two levels in the northeastern North Atlantic as obtained from acoustically tracked floats. We find that most of the mean flow transported northward by the Gulf Stream system at the thermocline level (about 600 m depth) remains within the subpolar region, and only relatively little enters the Rockall trough or the Nordic seas. Contrary to previous works, our data indicate that warm, saline water from the Mediterranean Sea reaches the high latitudes through a combination of narrow slope currents and mixing processes. At both depths under investigation, currents cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge preferentially over deep gaps in the ridge, demonstrating that sea-floor topography can constrain even upper-ocean circulation patterns. Text Nordic Seas North Atlantic University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rockall Trough ENVELOPE(-15.036,-15.036,53.825,53.825) Nature 419 6907 603 607 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
op_collection_id |
ftunivrhodeislan |
language |
unknown |
description |
The circulation of water masses in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean has a strong influence on global climate owing to the northward transport of warm subtropical water to high latitudes. But the ocean circulation at depths below the reach of satellite observations is difficult to measure, and only recently have comprehensive, direct observations of whole ocean basins been possible. Here we present quantitative maps of the absolute velocities at two levels in the northeastern North Atlantic as obtained from acoustically tracked floats. We find that most of the mean flow transported northward by the Gulf Stream system at the thermocline level (about 600 m depth) remains within the subpolar region, and only relatively little enters the Rockall trough or the Nordic seas. Contrary to previous works, our data indicate that warm, saline water from the Mediterranean Sea reaches the high latitudes through a combination of narrow slope currents and mixing processes. At both depths under investigation, currents cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge preferentially over deep gaps in the ridge, demonstrating that sea-floor topography can constrain even upper-ocean circulation patterns. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bower, A. S. Le Cann, B. Rossby, T. Zenk, W. Gould, J. Speer, K. Richardson, P. L. Prater, M. D. Zhang, H. M. |
spellingShingle |
Bower, A. S. Le Cann, B. Rossby, T. Zenk, W. Gould, J. Speer, K. Richardson, P. L. Prater, M. D. Zhang, H. M. Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
author_facet |
Bower, A. S. Le Cann, B. Rossby, T. Zenk, W. Gould, J. Speer, K. Richardson, P. L. Prater, M. D. Zhang, H. M. |
author_sort |
Bower, A. S. |
title |
Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
directly measured mid-depth circulation in the northeastern north atlantic ocean |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2272 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-15.036,-15.036,53.825,53.825) |
geographic |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rockall Trough |
geographic_facet |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rockall Trough |
genre |
Nordic Seas North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Nordic Seas North Atlantic |
op_source |
Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2272 doi:10.1038/nature01078 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01078 |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
419 |
container_issue |
6907 |
container_start_page |
603 |
op_container_end_page |
607 |
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1790603359350161408 |