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ArticleVariability of deep water in Jordan Basin of the Gulf of Maine: influence of Gulf Stream warm core rings and the Nova Scotia Current(American Geophysical Union, 2021-05-06) Du, Jiabi ; Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Li, YizhenAs the nutrient-rich subsurface slope water intruding into the deep basin of the Gulf of Maine (GoM) supports the high biological productivity in the semi-enclosed gulf, it is important to understand the process and time scale of such slope water intrusion. This study focuses on variations of the GoM deep water on seasonal to interannual time scales and the influences of open ocean processes on the temporal variation of the deep water properties. Based on long-term monitoring data, it is found that the deep water at Jordan Basin (one of three major basins in the GoM) is persistently warmer in winter than in summer, which is distinctly different from the seasonality of surface water in the basin and the deep water on neighboring shelf seas. The unique seasonality in the deep GoM reflects a time-lagged response to shoreward intrusion of the subsurface slope water off the GoM. Both observation-based lag-correlation analyses and numerical simulations confirm a timescale of approximately 3 months for the intruding subsurface slope water to flow from Northeast Channel to Jordan Basin. Properties of the intruding slope water at the Northeast Channel were significantly correlated with the Gulf Stream position and dramatically impacted by episodic warm-core rings shed from Gulf Stream. Inside the deep GoM, the intruding slope water was also indirectly affected by the fresher water input from Nova Scotia Current. Spreading of the fresher water inside the gulf strengthens near-surface stratification, suppresses deep convection, and preserves heat and salt in the deep GoM during the wintertime.
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ArticleImpact of Gulf Stream warm-core rings on slope water intrusion into the Gulf of Maine(American Meteorological Society, 2022-08-01) Du, Jiabi ; Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Li, YizhenIntruding slope water is a major source of nutrients to sustain the high biological productivity in the Gulf of Maine (GoM). Slope water intrusion into the GoM is affected by Gulf Stream warm-core rings (WCRs) impinging onto the nearby shelf edge. This study combines long-term mooring measurements, satellite remote sensing data, an idealized numerical ocean model, and a linear coastal-trapped wave (CTW) model to examine the impact of WCRs on slope water intrusion into the GoM through the Northeast Channel. Analysis of satellite sea surface height and temperature data shows that the slope sea region off the GoM is a hotspot of ring activities. A significant linear relationship is found between interannual variations of ring activities in the slope sea region off the GoM and bottom salinity at the Northeast Channel, suggesting the importance of WCRs in modulating variability of intruding slope water. Analysis of the mooring data reveals enhanced slope water intrusion through bottom-intensified along-channel flow following impingements of WCRs on the nearby shelf edge. Numerical simulations qualitatively reproduce the observed WCR impingement processes and associated episodic enhancement of slope water intrusion in the Northeast Channel. Diagnosis of the model result indicates that baroclinic CTWs excited by the ring–topography interaction are responsible for the episodically intensified subsurface along-channel inflow, which carries more slope water into the GoM. A WCR that impinges onto the shelf edge to the northeast of the Northeast Channel tends to generate stronger CTWs and cause stronger enhancement of the slope water intrusion into the GoM.