Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
This report summarizes direct observations of Eighteen Degree Water (EDW) subduction
and dispersal within the subtropical gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean. Forty acoustically-tracked
bobbing, profiling floats (“bobbers”) were deployed to study the formation and
dispersal of EDW in the western North Atlantic. The unique bobber dataset described
herein provides insight into the evolution of EDW by means of direct, eddy-resolving
measurement of EDW Lagrangian dispersal pathways and stratification. Bobbers are
modified Autonomous Profiling Explorer (APEX) profiling floats which actively servo
their buoyancy control mechanism to follow a particular isothermal surface. The
CLIVAR Mode Water Dynamics Experiment (CLIMODE) bobbers tracked the 18.5°C
temperature surface for 3 days, then bobbed quickly between the 17°C and 19°C
isotherms. This cycle was repeated for one month, after which each bobber profiled to
1000 m before ascending to the surface to transmit data. The resulting dataset (37/40
tracked bobbers; more than half still profiling as of January 2010) yields well-resolved
trajectories, unprecedented velocity statistics in the core of the subducting and spreading
EDW, and detailed information about the Lagrangian evolution of EDW thickness and
vertical structure. This report provides an overview of the experimental procedure
employed and summarizes the initial processing of the bobber dataset.
Description:
Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-0424492.
Keywords:
Oceanus (Ship : 1975-) Cruise OC419
;
Oceanus (Ship : 1975-) Cruise OC434
;
Oceanus (Ship : 1975-) Cruise OC442
;
Knorr (Ship : 1970-) Cruise KN188-01
;
Knorr (Ship : 1970-) Cruise KN188-02
;
Atlantis (Ship : 1997-) Cruise AT13
;
Ocean currents
;
Oceanographic buoys
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Technical Report
Format:
application/pdf
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