Absolutely referenced geostrophic velocity and transport on a section across the North Atlantic Current
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2-1-2000
Abstract
A transect of CTD profiles crossing the North Atlantic Current (NAC) along WOCE line ACM6 near 42.5 °N during August 1-7, 1993, provides geostrophic shear velocity profiles, which were absolutely referenced using simultaneous POGO transport float measurements and velocity measurements from a ship-mounted acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP). The NAC absolute transport was 112 ± 23 x 106 m3 s-1, which includes a portion of the transport of the Mann Eddy, a large permanent anticyclonic eddy commonly adjacent to the NAC. The NAC transport estimated relative to a level of no motion at the bottom would have underestimated the true total absolute transport by 20%. A surprisingly large 58 x 106 m3 s-1 flowed southward just inshore of the NAC. This flow, centered near 1500 dbars about 200 km offshore of the shelf-break, was fairly barotropic with a peak velocity of greater than 20 cm s-1, and the water mass characteristics were of Labrador Sea Water. These absolute transport observations suggest southward recirculation inshore of the NAC at 42.5 °N and a stronger NAC than has previously been observed.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Volume
47
Issue
2
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Meinen, Christopher S., D. R. Watts, and R. Allyn Clarke. "Absolutely referenced geostrophic velocity and transport on a section across the North Atlantic Current." Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 47, 2 (2000). doi: 10.1016/S0967-0637(99)00061-8.