Abstract:
This is the final data report of all acoustically tracked RAFOS data collected in 1993-1995 during A Mediterranean
Undercurrent Seeding Experiment (AMUSE). The overall objective of the program was to observe directly the spreading
pathways by which Mediterranean Water enters the North Atlantic. This includes the direct observation of Mediterranean
eddies (meddies), which is one mechanism that transports Mediterranean Water to the North Atlantic. The experiment was
comprised of a repeated high-resolution expendable bathythermograph (XBT) section and RAFOS float deployments across
the Mediterranean Undercurrent south of Portugal near 8.5°W. A total of 49 floats were deployed at a rate of about two
floats per week on 23 cruises on the chartered Portuguese-based vessel, Kialoa II, and one cruise on the R/V Endeavor. The
floats were ballasted for 1100 or 1200 decibars (db) to seed the lower salinity core of the Mediterranean Undercurrent. The
objectives of the Lagrangian float study were (1) to identify where meddies form, (2) to make the first direct estimate of
meddy formation frequency, (3) to estimate the fraction of time meddies are being formed, and (4) to determine the
pathways by which Mediterranean Water which is not trapped in meddies enters the North Atlantic.
