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| Titel |
Mean full-depth circulation and transports in the North Atlantic across 60N in the 2000s |
| VerfasserIn |
Artem Sarafanov, Anastasia Falina, Alexey Sokov, Herlé Mercier, Pascale Lherminier, Claire Gourcuff |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2011
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 13 (2011) |
| Datensatznummer |
250046438
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| Zusammenfassung |
| The 2002–2008 mean state of the full-depth basin-wide summer circulation at the northern
periphery of the Atlantic Ocean is assessed by combining satellite altimetry data with the
yearly repeat hydrographic measurements at 59.5Ë N between Cape Farewell (Greenland)
and Scotland.
The mean absolute geostrophic velocities and associated uncertainties at 59.5Ë N are
obtained from the (i) mean dynamic topography-derived sea-surface velocities provided by
CLS, (ii) mean altimetry-derived sea-surface velocity anomalies provided by AVISO, and (iii)
mean surface-to-bottom velocity shears calculated from CTD data (7 annual repeats
of the section, June–August). The mean Ekman transport across the section was
calculated from QuikSCAT monthly wind stress available from CERSAT. The applied
approach efficiently filters out transient energetic mesoscale features and hence
reveals a velocity field dominated by the prominent mean currents. Based on the
obtained velocity pattern, the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in density
(MOCÏă=16.5±2.2Â Sv, at Ïă0=27.55) and depth (11.2±1.8Â Sv, at 1180Â m) coordinates
and transports by the upper-ocean, mid-depth and deep currents are quantified.
The results are compared with synoptic transports obtained from direct velocity
measurements in the region. By incorporating estimates of the Atlantic–Nordic Seas
exchange across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, as available from literature, general
features of the large-scale circulation north of 59.5Ë N are inferred and schematically
visualized.
The meridional circulation across 59.5Ë N is comprised principally of the North Atlantic
Current in the eastern basin (15.5±0.8Â Sv, Ïă0Â |
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