The Annual Cycle of Meridional Heat Flux in the Atlantic Ocean at 26.5°N

Molinari, Robert L.; Johns, Elizabeth; Festa, John F.

doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1990)020<0476:tacomh>2.0.co;2

Cited by 40 publications

(39 citation statements)

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“…Estimating the absolute velocities through the inverse analysis automatically guarantees a zero mass balance over the integration area. We will decompose the total heat flux derived in this manner into components similar to those used by Hall and Bryden [53,6 Molinari et al (1990) and those for 11N are taken from Friedrichs and Hall (1993). (1982) for comparison purposes.…”

Section: Salinitysupporting

confidence: 73%

“…Data from transatlantic sections thus are now also used to study meridional heat flux by ocean currents (Bryden and Hall (1980); Roemmich (1983); Roemmich and Wunsch (1985), for instance). Many of the earlier heat flux estimates were made at 24.5N in the Atlantic where reliable measurements of the western boundary current offered an opportunity to determine the oceanic heat flux within small error limits and establish the annual cycle (Molinari et al, 1990). For low latitudes, however, very few estimates exist and very little is known from direct heat transport calculations about the annual variability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A transatlantic section at 14.5N: Meridional volume and heat fluxes

Klein¹,

Molinari²,

Müller³

et al. 1995

issn: 0022-2402

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Two high-resolution hydrographic sections occupied during February, March 1989 in the western and eastern basins of the North Atlantic at 14SN are combined to study the water mass structure and meridional mass and heat transports. Absolute velocities were determined using these data and an earlier section at 8N in a linear inverse analysis. Mass balance for several layers representing the main water masses in the region and a zero net divergence for the sum of geostrophic and Ekman transport between the two sections are assumed. Using the annual mean of Ekman transports (13.6 Sv, 14SN), (15.2 Sv, 8N) based on the climatology by Isemer and Hasse (1985) the annual average fluxes for the sections at 8N and 14.5N have been calculated. For the annual mean the strength of the meridional overturning cell at 14.5N amounts to 15.9 Sv with an associated heat transport of 1.22 PW. A similar value can be obtained at 8N where the annual mean heat transport reaches 1.18 PW and the overturning cell measures 15 Sv. The total northward heat transport is strongly dominated by the wind-driven Ekman heat transport.'In-situ' values of heat transport using the actual wind-driven transports for the respective months yield even higher estimates. Heat transport at 14.5N rises to 1.37 f 0.42 PW (February) and the maximum is now at the 8N section, 1.69 -t 0.52 PW (May).Comparisons of our results with another tropical section at 11N occupied concurrently demonstrate the large variability in heat transport related to changes in the wind field. Due to extremely weak winds in the eastern Atlantic and a resulting low Ekman transport, the 'in-situ' value of heat transport through this section ranged between 0.30 t 0.18 PW and 0.59 2 0.18 PW depending on the value chosen for the Ekman transport. The lower of the two heat transport estimates results from calculations with the actual observed winds and the other using a monthly climatological mean. That even the computations with the climatological monthly mean give such a low heat transport points to additional changes in the baroclinic structures between 11N and 14.5N.

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Section: Salinitysupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A transatlantic section at 14.5N: Meridional volume and heat fluxes

Klein¹,

Molinari²,

Müller³

et al. 1995

issn: 0022-2402

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“…The LC is fed by warm tropical waters from the Caribbean Sea, which flow through the Yucatan Channel into the Gulf before moving through the Florida Straits into the North Atlantic (Johns et al 2002;Ezer et al 2003;Oey et al 2003;Oey 2004). As part of the Gulf Stream system, the LC acts as key element in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and hence affects the North Atlantic hydrography, heat budget and climate in NWEurope (Schott et al 1988;Molinari et al 1990;Schmitz and Richardson 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contourite drift evolution and related coral growth in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and its gateways

Hübscher

Dullo

Flögel

et al. 2010

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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Sediment subbottom profiler and multi-beam data reveal that sediment drifts evolved in various depth intervals between 420 and 650 m water depth in the eastern Golf of Mexico and its gateways. Drift evolution on the western flank of the Yucatan Strait is controlled by the northbound Loop Current down to 800 m and by a countercurrent beneath. On the northern Campeche Bank and the West Florida Slope, drifts evolved in depth of 520-600 m and 420-550 m, respectively. In both instances, the causative contour current represents a counter flow to the Loop Current. The varying depth ranges correlate with an eastward rise of the upper boundary of the Antarctic Intermediate Water. The geometry and reflection pattern of upper slope deposits strongly suggest that the causative bottom current velocities in the eastern Gulf of Mexico varied significantly in space and time. The subbottom profiler data further show peculiar stacked diffraction hyperbolae in depths between 480 and 600 m. Camera and video observations from the seafloor off western Florida imply that the diffraction hyperbolas are formed by boulders and cliffs of sedimentary rock, which are locally colonized by coldwater corals, such as Lophelia pertusa, octocorals and stylasterids.

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“…These fluxes were then integrated along the section by the method of trapezoids. [20]), blank square (according to [27]), dark circle (according to [26]) and blank triangle (according to [16]), dark square (according to our calculations), and dark triangle (according to our results). The vertical thin lines denote the confidence intervals (± σ t ).…”

Section: Characteristics Of the Used Datamentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The vertical thin lines denote the confidence intervals (± σ t ). To analyze the trends of variations of the MHT in the North Atlantic, we also used all available direct estimates of the MHT obtained according to the data of observations carried out in 1957-1998 and published in [11,20,[22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

Section: Characteristics Of the Used Datamentioning

confidence: 99%