The Bunker Climate Atlas of the North Atlantic Ocean

Isemer, Hans-Jörg; Hasse, Lutz

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-72537-1

Cited by 167 publications

(80 citation statements)

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“…This poleward induction of slope currents was described in Pingree and Le Cann (1990) from Eulerian measurements, but is more easily depicted by Lagrangian data and is intensified in spring-summer. The westward flow over the northern Spanish slopes was postulated by Schopp (1993) and attributed to (negative) windstress curl forcing (Isemer and Hasse, 1985), which drives a southward Sverdrup flow component over the BB abyssal plain, which collects over the Spanish slopes as a westward flow. This mechanism cannot explain the Armorican equatorward flow.…”

Section: Slope Currentsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Lagrangian circulation of the North Atlantic Central Water over the abyssal plain and continental slopes of the Bay of Biscay: description of selected mesoscale features

Serpette¹,

Cann²,

Colas³

2006

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: Between 1994 and 2001, several experiments (ARCANE, SEFOS, INTERAFOS) were conducted to directly measure the general and mesoscale Lagrangian circulations over the Bay of Biscay abyssal plain and slopes. Two levels (~100 m and ~450 m) were selected to cover the North Atlantic Central Water range. Two types of Lagrangian instruments, drogued surface drifters tracked by satellite (Surdrift) and acoustically tracked subsurface floats (Rafos and Marvor), were used. Overall, more than 36 instrument-years were collected in the Bay of Biscay region (43-49°N, 01-12°W). The weak general circulation in the Bay of Biscay is seen to be highly influenced by the occurrence of several mesoscale coherent features, notably slope currents and eddies, and these affect the exchanges between the abyssal plain and the slopes. The objective of this paper is to depict some specific examples of the observed mesoscale field. Selected float trajectories are shown and used to discuss observations of slope currents and of both anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies. Slope currents exhibit alternation of poleward and equatorward directions, depending on both the period and the geographic area considered. Although the generation process of mesoscale eddies is difficult to observe unambiguously from Lagrangian instruments, eddies are nevertheless ubiquitous over the abyssal plain. Some characteristics of the observed cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are presented. Smaller anticyclones, localised over the outer shelf and interpreted in terms of ajustment of slope water intrusions, are also depicted. para determinar la circulación Lagrangiana, general y de meso-escala, sobre la planicie abisal y del talud del Golfo de Vizcaya. Dos niveles fueron seleccionados para seguir el Agua Central del Atlántico-Norte (100 m y 450 m). Para esto se han usado boyas de deriva en superficie (de tipo Surdrifts de inmersión constante, seguidas por satélite) y flotadores en profundidad localizados por red acústica (Rafos y Marvor). Casi 36 años-flotadores han sido obtenidos por esas experiencias en la región del Golfo de Vizcaya. La circulación general del Golfo se muestra débil, al parecer muy influida por la presencia de procesos de meso-escala, como de corrientes del talud y remolinos que participan en los intercambios entre la planicie abisal y el talud. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en describir específicamente algunos eventos de meso-escala que han sido observados. Algunas trayectorias de flotadores fueron usadas para describir y discutir las observaciones de las corrientes del talud y de remolinos ciclónicos y anticiclónicos. Las corrientes del talud muestran una estructura alternada, en dirección hacia el polo o el ecuador, según la época del año y la región consideradas. Aunque es difícil observar el proceso de formación de los remolinos de meso-escala con flotadores Lagrangianos, éstas estructuras son muy numerosas sobre la planicie abisal. Diferentes características pueden ser descritas con los datos recogidos de remolinos ciclónicos y anticic...

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Section: Slope Currentsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Lagrangian circulation of the North Atlantic Central Water over the abyssal plain and continental slopes of the Bay of Biscay: description of selected mesoscale features

Serpette¹,

Cann²,

Colas³

2006

Sci. Mar.

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“…Ekman pumping does not contribute to the decrease. In fact, the positive windstress curl leads to an Ekman upward vertical velocity of O(10 (6 ) m s (1 (Isemer and Hasse, 1987).…”

Section: The Integralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directly measured currents and estimated transport pathways of Atlantic Water between 59.5°N and the Iceland–Faroes–Scotland Ridge

Childers¹,

Flagg²,

Rossby³

et al. 2015

Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography

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“…Under Wind are "winter" (November-April) and "summer" (May-Octotber) averages of cross-shelf edge Ekman flux (Sect. 4); these use monthly wind speeds from Josey et al (1998Josey et al ( , 2002 and wind directions and standard deviations from Isemer and Hasse (1985); typical standard deviations of the six monthly values about the given average are ±25%. Huthnance et al, 2002;Joint and Wassmann, 2001;van Weering and McCave, 2002).…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas

2009

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Abstract. We review mechanisms and studies of exchange between the north-east Atlantic and the adjacent shelf seas. Well-developed summer upwelling and associated filaments off Portugal and north-west Spain give exchange O(3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf). Prevailing westerly winds further north drive exchange O(1 m 2 /s). Poleward flow along most of the upper slope has associated secondary circulation O(1 m 2 /s), meanders and eddies. Eddies are shed from slope waters into the Bay of Biscay, and local exchanges occur at shelf spurs and depressions or canyons (e.g. dense-water cascading of order 1 m 2 /s). Tidal transports are larger, but their reversal every six hours makes exchange largely ineffective except where internal tides are large and non-linear, as in the Celtic Sea where solitons carry water with exchange O(1 m 2 /s). These various physical exchanges amount to an estimated 2-3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf, between ocean and shelf. A numerical model estimate is comparable: 2.5×10 6 m 3 /s onto and off the shelf from Brittany to Norway. Mixing controls the seasonal thermocline, affecting primary production and hence fluxes and fate of organic matter. Specifically, CO 2 take-up by primary production, settling below the thermocline before respiration, and then off-shelf transport, make an effective shelf-sea "pump" (for CO 2 from the atmosphere to the deep ocean). However, knowledge of biogeochemical fluxes is generally sparse, giving scope for more measurements, model validation and estimates from models.

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The Bunker Climate Atlas of the North Atlantic Ocean

Cited by 167 publications

References 0 publications

Lagrangian circulation of the North Atlantic Central Water over the abyssal plain and continental slopes of the Bay of Biscay: description of selected mesoscale features

Lagrangian circulation of the North Atlantic Central Water over the abyssal plain and continental slopes of the Bay of Biscay: description of selected mesoscale features

Directly measured currents and estimated transport pathways of Atlantic Water between 59.5°N and the Iceland–Faroes–Scotland Ridge

Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas

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