Variability in the slope water and its relation to the Gulf Stream path

Sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) data for 1993-2007 for the North Atlantic are combined with hydrographic data at 69 W to investigate the relation between the Gulf Stream (GS) position and the Slope Water properties. SST anomalies north of the GS are correlated with changes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Pena-Molino, B, Joyce, TM
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2008
Subjects:
Earth Sciences
Oceanography
Physical Oceanography
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032183
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71459
Description
Summary:Sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) data for 1993-2007 for the North Atlantic are combined with hydrographic data at 69 W to investigate the relation between the Gulf Stream (GS) position and the Slope Water properties. SST anomalies north of the GS are correlated with changes in its path. The lag of this correlation is such that positive temperature anomalies precede northward shifts of the GS, and suggests that SST anomalies move westward with speeds of several cm/s. EOF analysis of the SST and SSH fields shows that cooling and strengthening of the SW flow are in phase over the Slope Water, which is mirrored in the vertical structure of these fields at 69 W, indicating larger transports in the deep western boundary current lead to southward shifts of the mean GS path. This relation between the slope water and the GS path provides some predictability for the latter.

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