On the deep general circulation in the western North Atlantic

Abstract

Very large (5-10 cm s-1) long-term averaged zonal flows have been observed near 4000 m depth in the vicinity of a recently hypothesized (Worthington, in press) horizontally restricted subtropical gyre in the deep western North Atlantic. The Reynolds stresses associated with low frequency fluctuations may play a significant role in the dynamics of this deep mean flow, possibly inducing a significant downstream increase in transport of the Gulf Stream, perhaps driving the deep gyre.