The Canary Eddy Corridor: A major pathway for long-lived eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic

Sangrà, Pablo; Pascual, Ananda; Rodríguez-Santana, Ángel; Machín, Francisco; Mason, Evan; McWilliams, James C.; Pelegrí, Josep Lluís; Dong, Changming; Rubio, Anna; Arı́stegui, Javier; Marrero-Díaz, Ángeles; Hernández‐Guerra, Alonso; Martínez-Marrero, Antonio; Auladell, Maricel

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2009.08.008

Cited by 150 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The first method, the Okubo-Weiß method (OW method; Okubo, 1970;Weiss, 1991), has been frequently used to detect eddies using satellite data as well as the output from numerical studies (e.g., Isern-Fontanet et al, 2006;Chelton et al, 2007;Sangrà et al, 2009 Chelton et al, 2007). The maximum (minimum) SLA marks the eddy center.…”

Section: Eddy Identification and Tracking From Satellite Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occurrence and characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the tropical northeastern Atlantic Ocean

2016

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Abstract. Coherent mesoscale features (referred to here as eddies) in the tropical northeastern Atlantic Ocean (between 12-22 • N and 15-26 • W) are examined and characterized. The eddies' surface signatures are investigated using 19 years of satellite-derived sea level anomaly (SLA) data. Two automated detection methods are applied, the geometrical method based on closed streamlines around eddy cores, and the Okubo-Weiß method based on the relation between vorticity and strain. Both methods give similar results. Mean eddy surface signatures of SLA, sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) anomalies are obtained from composites of all snapshots around identified eddy cores. Anticyclones/cyclones are identified by an elevation/depression of SLA and enhanced/reduced SST and SSS in their cores. However, about 20 % of all anticyclonically rotating eddies show reduced SST and reduced SSS instead. These kind of eddies are classified as anticyclonic mode-water eddies (ACMEs). About 146 ± 4 eddies per year with a minimum lifetime of 7 days are identified (52 % cyclones, 39 % anticyclones, 9 % ACMEs) with rather similar mean radii of about 56 ± 12 km. Based on concurrent in situ temperature and salinity profiles (from Argo float, shipboard, and mooring data) taken inside of eddies, distinct mean vertical structures of the three eddy types are determined. Most eddies are generated preferentially in boreal summer and along the West African coast at three distinct coastal headland regions and carry South Atlantic Central Water supplied by the northward flow within the Mauretanian coastal current system. Westward eddy propagation (on average about 3.00 ± 2.15 km d −1 ) is confined to distinct zonal corridors with a small meridional deflection dependent on the eddy type (anticyclones -equatorward, cyclones -poleward, ACMEs -no deflection). Heat and salt fluxes out of the coastal region and across the Cape Verde Frontal Zone, which separates the shadow zone from the ventilated subtropical gyre, are calculated.

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Section: Eddy Identification and Tracking From Satellite Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 2. Mean salinity (a) and potential temperature (b) at 100 m depth in the TANWA from the monthly, isopycnal/mixed-layer ocean (MIMOC) climatology (Schmidtko et al, 2013) and θ/S diagram (c). The thick black/white line in (a) and (b) indicates the CVFZ.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence and characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the tropical northeastern Atlantic Ocean

2016

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“…Halfway through the study we simulated an upwelling event of nutrient-rich water by adding collected deep-water to each mesocosm (see Taucher et al, 2017). Mesoscale upwelling events are naturally occurring frequently south of the Canary Islands, as this region is characterized by a distinct eddy-corridor (Sangrà et al, 2009). In this paper we address how OA induced changes in plankton community structure could influence the elemental composition and degradation of sinking POM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean Acidification-Induced Restructuring of the Plankton Food Web Can Influence the Degradation of Sinking Particles

et al. 2018

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Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to alter plankton community structure in the future ocean. This, in turn, could change the composition of sinking organic matter and the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. So far, most OA experiments involving entire plankton communities have been conducted in meso-to eutrophic environments. However, recent studies suggest that OA effects may be more pronounced during prolonged periods of nutrient limitation. In this study, we investigated how OA-induced changes in low-nutrient adapted plankton communities of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean may affect particulate organic matter (POM) standing stocks, POM fluxes, and POM stoichiometry. More specifically, we compared the elemental composition of POM suspended in the water column to the corresponding sinking material collected in sediment traps. Three weeks into the experiment, we simulated a natural upwelling event by adding nutrient-rich deep-water to all mesocosms, which induced a diatom-dominated phytoplankton bloom. Our results show that POM was more efficiently retained in the water column in the highest CO 2 treatment levels (>800 µatm pCO 2 ) subsequent to this bloom. We further observed significantly lower C:N and C:P ratios in post-bloom sedimented POM in the highest CO 2 treatments, suggesting that degradation processes were less pronounced. This trend is most likely explained by differences in micro-and mesozooplankton abundance during the bloom and postbloom phase. Overall, this study shows that OA can indirectly alter POM fluxes and stoichiometry in subtropical environments through changes in plankton community structure.

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“…1), showed the high mesoscale variability that has been repeatedly reported for the region (Barton et al, 1998;Basterretxea and Arístegui, 2000;Sangrà et al, 2009;Benítez-Barrios et al, 2011), where coastal upwelling, filaments and cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are among the most visible features. Eddies south of the islands were deep and generated by a combined effect of Ekman pumping and topographic perturbation of the mean southward flow of the Canary Current (Arístegui et al, 1994(Arístegui et al, , 1997Barton et al, 2000;Sangrà et al, 2009;Benítez-Barrios et al, 2011). In contrast, eddies near the upwelling frontal zone were shallower and probably formed by baroclinic instabilities in the upwelling jet (Benítez-Barrios et al, 2011).…”

Section: Hydrographic Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In addition to the variability imposed by upwelling on the African shelf from where filaments develop and progress (Barton et al, 2004), the Canary Islands generate another type of variability. The archipelago perturbs the flow of both the Canary Current and the Trade winds (Arístegui et al 1994;Barton et al, 1998;Sangrà et al, 2009), leading to the formation of eddies that are shed downstream from the islands. The perturbation of the Canary Current seems to be the main source for eddy generation, since eddies have been observed in the region even in winter, when wind intensity is very low (Arístegui et al, 1994;Rodríguez et al 1999;Piedeleu et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photophysiological variability and its influence on primary production in the NW Africa–Canary Islands coastal transition zone

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Montero

et al. 2016

Journal of Marine Systems

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The Canary Eddy Corridor: A major pathway for long-lived eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic

Cited by 150 publications

References 43 publications

Occurrence and characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the tropical northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Occurrence and characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the tropical northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Ocean Acidification-Induced Restructuring of the Plankton Food Web Can Influence the Degradation of Sinking Particles

Photophysiological variability and its influence on primary production in the NW Africa–Canary Islands coastal transition zone

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