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    On the seasonal variability of the Canary Current and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

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    V-lez-Belch-_et_al-2017-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf (4.706Mb)
    Date
    2017-06-01
    Author
    Vélez-Belchí, Pedro  Concept link
    Perez-Hernandez, M. Dolores  Concept link
    Casanova-Masjoan, Maria  Concept link
    Cana, Luis  Concept link
    Hernández-Guerra, Alonso  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/9197
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC012774
    DOI
    10.1002/2017JC012774
    Keyword
     Canary Current; African slope; Seasonal cycle; Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; Rossby wave 
    Abstract
    The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is continually monitored along 26°N by the RAPID-MOCHA array. Measurements from this array show a 6.7 Sv seasonal cycle for the AMOC, with a 5.9 Sv contribution from the upper mid-ocean. Recent studies argue that the dynamics of the eastern Atlantic is the main driver for this seasonal cycle; specifically, Rossby waves excited south of the Canary Islands. Using inverse modeling, hydrographic, mooring, and altimetry data, we describe the seasonal cycle of the ocean mass transport around the Canary Islands and at the eastern boundary, under the influence of the African slope, where eastern component of the RAPID-MOCHA array is situated. We find a seasonal cycle of −4.1 ± 0.5 Sv for the oceanic region of the Canary Current, and +3.7 ± 0.4 Sv at the eastern boundary. This seasonal cycle along the eastern boundary is in agreement with the seasonal cycle of the AMOC that requires the lowest contribution to the transport in the upper mid-ocean to occur in fall. However, we demonstrate that the linear Rossby wave model used previously to explain the seasonal cycle of the AMOC is not robust, since it is extremely sensitive to the choice of the zonal range of the wind stress curl and produces the same results with a Rossby wave speed of zero. We demonstrate that the seasonal cycle of the eastern boundary is due to the recirculation of the Canary Current and to the seasonal cycle of the poleward flow that characterizes the eastern boundaries of the oceans.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 4518–4538, doi:10.1002/2017JC012774.
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    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 4518–4538
     

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