An exploration of the North Atlantic current and its recirculation in the Newfoundland basin using SOFAR floats

Abstract

Trajectories and time series of velocity, temperature, and pressure are presented for 13 neutrally-buoyant, acoustically tracked (SOFAR) floats that were launched in May and June, 1986 in the Newfoundland Basin by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution SOFAR float operations group. The deployment of these floats and the array of Autonomous Listening Stations (ALS's) used to track the floats was designed to investigate the North Atlantic Current and its possible recirculation. Although there were a number of technical difficulties which reduced the data return for this experiment, we have obtained a total of nearly 12 years of float data for the region at three depths, nominally 700, 1200, and 2000 m. The data obtained from two deployments of ALS's, covering nearly three years, are presented in this report. Of particular note is the strong eddy variability at 700 m depth that is comparable to those found in the Gulf Stream Extension and the entrainment of 2000 m depth floats into the deep western boundary current.