Introduction and BackgroundMany oceanographic processes occur in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras USA, and together contribute to the complex flow regime there. Cape Hatteras and its sub-surface offshore extension, Diamond Shoals, mark the separation of the continental shelf along the U.S east coast into two distinct regions: South Atlantic Bight (SAB) and Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB). Like the coastline, the shelfbreak (∼100-m isobath) changes its orientation from south to north, turning from about SW-NE to almost S-N at the "The Point," offshore of Cape Hatteras near 35.5°N (Figure 1a). The Point is where the Gulf Stream typically separates from the continental margin, and it is also usually the southernmost detachment location of the Shelfbreak Jet (Csanady & Hamilton, 1988;Gawarkiewicz et al., 2008). On the adjacent continental shelf, both the MAB and SAB shelf waters generally flow toward Cape Hatteras. To better understand the seawater exchange between the continental shelf and the adjacent open ocean in this region, an integrated observational and modeling program, Processes driving Exchange At Cape Hatteras