• Login
    About WHOAS
    View Item 
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    • View Item
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WHOASCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywordsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Dominant circulation patterns of the deep Gulf of Mexico

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    jpo-d-17-0140.1.pdf (8.700Mb)
    Date
    2018-03-01
    Author
    Perez-Brunius, Paula  Concept link
    Furey, Heather H.  Concept link
    Bower, Amy S.  Concept link
    Hamilton, Peter  Concept link
    Candela, Julio  Concept link
    García-Carrillo, Paula  Concept link
    Leben, Robert  Concept link
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/10364
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-17-0140.1
    DOI
    10.1175/JPO-D-17-0140.1
    Keyword
     Seas/gulfs/bays; Abyssal circulation; Boundary currents; Lagrangian circulation/transport; Large-scale motions; Trajectories 
    Abstract
    The large-scale circulation of the bottom layer of the Gulf of Mexico is analyzed, with special attention to the historically least studied western basin. The analysis is based on 4 years of data collected by 158 subsurface floats parked at 1500 and 2500 m and is complemented with data collected by current meter moorings in the western basin during the same period. Three main circulation patterns stand out: a cyclonic boundary current, a cyclonic gyre in the abyssal plain, and the very high eddy kinetic energy observed in the eastern Gulf. The boundary current and the cyclonic gyre appear as distinct features, which interact in the western tip of the Yucatan shelf. The persistence and continuity of the boundary current is addressed. Although high variability is observed, the boundary flow serves as a pathway for water to travel around the western basin in approximately 2 years. An interesting discovery is the separation of the boundary current over the northwestern slope of the Yucatan shelf. The separation and retroflection of the along-slope current appears to be a persistent feature and is associated with anticyclonic eddies whose genesis mechanism remains to be understood. As the boundary flow separates, it feeds into the westward flow of the deep cyclonic gyre. The location of this gyre—named the Sigsbee Abyssal Gyre—coincides with closed geostrophic contours, so eddy–topography interaction via bottom form stresses may drive this mean flow. The contribution to the cyclonic vorticity of the gyre by modons traveling under Loop Current eddies is discussed.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 48 (2018): 511-529, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-17-0140.1.
    Collections
    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Physical Oceanography 48 (2018): 511-529
     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      The Deep Water Dispersion Experiment: RAFOS float data report June 2016 - January 2019 

      Ramsey, Andree L.; Furey, Heather H.; Bower, Amy S.; Pérez-Brunius, Paula; García-Carrillo, Paula (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019-12)
      This is the final data report for all acoustically-tracked subsurface RAFOS floats deployed for the “Deep Water Dispersion Experiment: RAFOS Float Study in Support of Analysis of Possible Consequences of Large Scale ...
    • Thumbnail

      Assessment of numerical simulations of deep circulation and variability in the Gulf of Mexico using recent observations 

      Morey, Steven L.; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Pallás-Sanz, Enric; Azevedo Correia De Souza, Joao Marcos; Donohue, Kathleen A.; Pérez-Brunius, Paula; Dukhovskoy, Dmitry S.; Chassignet, Eric P.; Cornuelle, Bruce D.; Bower, Amy S.; Furey, Heather H.; Hamilton, Peter; Candela, Julio (American Meteorological Society, 2020-04-08)
      Three simulations of the circulation in the Gulf of Mexico (the “Gulf”) using different numerical general circulation models are compared with results of recent large-scale observational campaigns conducted throughout the ...
    • Thumbnail

      Internal tide generation by tall ocean ridges 

      Echeverri Mondragon, Paula (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2009-09)
      Internal tides are internal waves of tidal period generated by tidal currents flowing over submarine topography. Tall ridges that are nominally two-dimensional (2-D) are sites of particularly strong generation. The ...
    All Items in WHOAS are protected by original copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. WHOAS also supports the use of the Creative Commons licenses for original content.
    A service of the MBLWHOI Library | About WHOAS
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Privacy Policy
    Core Trust Logo