ALBERT

Description: The temporal evolution of the physical and biogeochemical structure of an oxygen-depleted anticyclonic modewater eddy is investigated over a 2-month period using high-resolution glider and ship data. A weakly stratified eddy core (squared buoyancy frequency N2  ∼  0.1  ×  10−4 s−2) at shallow depth is identified with a horizontal extent of about 70 km and bounded by maxima in N2. The upper N2 maximum (3–5  ×  10−4 s−2) coincides with the mixed layer base and the lower N2 maximum (0.4  ×  10−4 s−2) is found at about 200 m depth in the eddy centre. The eddy core shows a constant slope in temperature/salinity (T∕S) characteristic over the 2 months, but an erosion of the core progressively narrows down the T∕S range. The eddy minimal oxygen concentrations decreased by about 5 µmol kg−1 in 2 months, confirming earlier estimates of oxygen consumption rates in these eddies. Separating the mesoscale and perturbation flow components reveals oscillating velocity finestructure ( ∼  0.1 m s−1) underneath the eddy and at its flanks. The velocity finestructure is organized in layers that align with layers in properties (salinity, temperature) but mostly cross through surfaces of constant density. The largest magnitude in velocity finestructure is seen between the surface and 140 m just outside the maximum mesoscale flow but also in a layer underneath the eddy centre, between 250 and 450 m. For both regions a cyclonic rotation of the velocity finestructure with depth suggests the vertical propagation of near-inertial wave (NIW) energy. Modification of the planetary vorticity by anticyclonic (eddy core) and cyclonic (eddy periphery) relative vorticity is most likely impacting the NIW energy propagation. Below the low oxygen core salt-finger type double diffusive layers are found that align with the velocity finestructure. Apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) versus dissolved inorganic nitrate (NO3−) ratios are about twice as high (16) in the eddy core compared to surrounding waters (8.1). A large NO3− deficit of 4 to 6 µmol kg−1 is determined, rendering denitrification an unlikely explanation. Here it is hypothesized that the differences in local recycling of nitrogen and oxygen, as a result of the eddy dynamics, cause the shift in the AOU : NO3− ratio. High NO3− and low oxygen waters are eroded by mixing from the eddy core and entrain into the mixed layer. The nitrogen is reintroduced into the core by gravitational settling of particulate matter out of the euphotic zone. The low oxygen water equilibrates in the mixed layer by air–sea gas exchange and does not participate in the gravitational sinking. Finally we propose a mesoscale–submesoscale interaction concept where wind energy, mediated via NIWs, drives nutrient supply to the euphotic zone and drives extraordinary blooms in anticyclonic mode-water eddies.

Description: A long term mean flow field for the subpolar North Atlantic region with a horizontal resolution of approximately 25km is created by gridding Argo-derived velocity vectors using two different topography following interpolation schemes. The 10-d float displacements in the typical drift depths of 1000m to 1500m represent the flow in the Labrador Sea Water density range. Both mapping algorithms separate the flow field into potential vorticity (PV) conserving, i.e. topography following contribution and a deviating part, which we define as the eddy contribution. To verify the significance of the separation, we compare the mean flow and the eddy kinetic energy (EKE), derived from both mapping algorithms, with those obtained from multiyear mooring observations. The PV-conserving mean flow is characterized by stable boundary currents along all major topographic features including shelf breaks and basin-interior topographic ridges such as the Reykjanes Ridge or the Rockall Plateau. Mid-basin northward advection pathways from the northeastern Labrador Sea into the Irminger Sea and from the Mid Atlantic Ridge region into the Iceland basin are well-resolved. An eastward flow is present across the southern boundary of the subpolar gyre near 52°N, the latitude of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone. The mid-depth EKE field resembles most of the satellite-derived surface EKE field. However, noticeable differences exist along the northward advection pathways in the Irminger Sea and the Iceland basin, where the deep EKE exceeds the surface EKE field. Further, the ratio between mean flow and the square root of the EKE, the Peclet Number, reveals distinct advection-dominated regions as well as basin interior regimes in which mixing is prevailing.

Description: The meridional Ekman volume, heat and salt transport across two trans-Atlantic sections near 14.5° N and 11° S were estimated using wind products, in-situ observations, and model data. A meridional ageostrophic velocity was obtained as the difference between the directly measured total velocity and the geostrophic velocity derived from observations. Wave-like structures exist in the ageostrophic velocity with 60–80 m vertical scale and large horizontal coherence, which are likely associated with near-inertial waves. The meridional Ekman transport estimated by integrating the ageostrophic velocity was 6.2 ± 2.3 Sv northward at 14.5° N and 11.7 ± 2.1 Sv southward at 11° S, which agrees well with the predictions from in-situ wind stress data of 6.7 ± 3.5 Sv at 14.5° N and 13.6 ± 3.3 Sv at 11° S. The top of the pycnocline well represents the penetration depth of the Ekman currents at both sections, which was typically 20 m deeper than the local mixed layer depth. We observed that in the meridional Ekman heat and salt flux calculation, using only the sea surface temperature and salinity data had a negligible impact on the resulting fluxes compared to using temperature and salinity profile data covering the Ekman layer. The errors in the Ekman heat and salt flux calculation were dominated by the uncertainty in the Ekman volume transport estimates.

Description: The meridional Ekman volume, heat, and salt transport across two trans-Atlantic sections near 14.5° N and 11° S were estimated using in situ observations, wind products, and model data. A meridional ageostrophic velocity was obtained as the difference between the directly measured total velocity and the geostrophic velocity derived from observations. Interpreting the section mean ageostrophy to be the result of an Ekman balance, the meridional Ekman transport of 6.2±2.3 Sv northward at 14.5° N and 11.7±2.1 Sv southward at 11° S is estimated. The integration uses the top of the pycnocline as an approximation for the Ekman depth, which is on average about 20 m deeper than the mixed layer depth. The Ekman transport estimated based on the velocity observations agrees well with the predictions from in situ wind stress data of 6.7±3.5 Sv at 14.5° N and 13.6±3.3 Sv at 11° S. The meridional Ekman heat and salt fluxes calculated from sea surface temperature and salinity data or from high-resolution temperature and salinity profile data differ only marginally. The errors in the Ekman heat and salt flux calculation were dominated by the uncertainty of the Ekman volume transport estimates.

Description: The physical (temperature, salinity, velocity) and biogeochemical (oxygen, nitrate) structure of an oxygen depleted coherent, baroclinic, anticyclonic mode-water eddy (ACME) is investigated using high-resolution autonomous glider and ship data. A distinct core with a diameter of about 70 km is found in the eddy, extending from about 60 to 200 m depth and. The core is occupied by fresh and cold water with low oxygen and high nitrate concentrations, and bordered by local maxima in buoyancy frequency. Velocity and property gradient sections show vertical layering at the flanks and underneath the eddy characteristic for vertical propagation (to several hundred-meters depth) of near inertial internal waves (NIW) and confirmed by direct current measurements. A narrow region exists at the outer edge of the eddy where NIW can propagate downward. NIW phase speed and mean flow are of similar magnitude and critical layer formation is expected to occur. An asymmetry in the NIW pattern is seen that possible relates to the large-scale Ekman transport interacting with ACME dynamics. NIW/mean flow induced mixing occurs close to the euphotic zone/mixed layer and upward nutrient flux is expected and supported by the observations. Combing high resolution nitrate (NO3−) data with the apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) reveals AOU:NO3− ratios of 16 which are much higher than in the surrounding waters (8.1). A maximum NO3− deficit of 4 to 6 µmol kg−1 is estimated for the low oxygen core. Denitrification would be a possible explanation. This study provides evidence that the recycling of NO3−, extracted from the eddy core and replenished into the core via the particle export, may quantitatively be more important. In this case, the particulate phase is of keys importance in decoupling the nitrogen from the oxygen cycling.

Description: 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.

Description: Cross-shelf processes drive the exchange of water between the continental shelf and western boundary currents, leading to the import and export of heat, freshwater, sediments, nutrients, plankton, fish larvae, and other properties. Upwelling is an important process which modulates those exchanges. It regulates primary productivity, which in turn promotes higher trophic levels and fisheries. In this paper, we investigate upwelling events in the East Australian Current (EAC) intensification zone off Southeast Queensland through the analysis of remotely-sensed Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) as well as wind and ocean reanalysis products. A particular focus is on identifying the likely mechanisms that drive upwelling events during the austral autumn to winter which are evident from cold SST and enhanced Chl-a concentrations. Four complementary Upwelling Indices (UIs) are derived. Chl-a (UIChla) and SST (UISST) based indices characterize the oceanic response to upwelling, while indices based on wind (UIw) and current (UIc) data capture the forcing of upwelling. The spatial and temporal variability of all UIs is examined over the continental shelf. It reveals distinct seasonal patterns. For the northern region, UIs identify the well-known Southeast Fraser Island Upwelling System. It prevails during the austral spring to early summer and is driven by current- and upwelling favourable wind. In contrast, upwelling is enhanced over the southern shelf during austral autumn to winter. About 70 % of all UISST and UIChla identified upwelling events occur during this period. A case study is presented that provides observational evidence for the existence of a shelf-break upwelling. Simultaneous downwelling favourable wind stress and upwelling favourable current-driven bottom stress establish a flow convergence in the bottom boundary layer (BBL). These convergent BBL flows force upwelling of cold and nutrient-rich slope waters as evident from negative SST anomaly and enhanced Chl-a in austral autumn to winter. It is evident from these results that the shelf region is characterised by two distinct seasonally reoccurring upwelling regimes.

Description: The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is analyzed using hydrographic data from trans-Atlantic sections along 14.5° N, occupied in 1989 and 2013, and along 24.5° N, occupied in 1992 and 2015. Comparison between the periods shows that the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) became warmer and saltier at 14.5° N, and the density of the densest Antarctic Bottom Water decreased at both sections. By applying a box inverse model, the absolute meridional velocity across the sections and dianeutral velocity across neutral surfaces were determined. Corresponding to the warming and salinification of the AAIW at 14.5° N, the intermediate layer transport was also considerably weaker in 2013 than in 1989. The AMOC was generally stronger during 1989/1992 than during 2013/2015 (18.6 ± 2.7 vs. 14.7 ± 3.9 Sv at 14.5° N, and 19.2 ± 1.7 vs. 16.9 ± 1.6 Sv at 24.5° N, respectively). The inverse solution suggests that the transport changes are caused by reduction in the northward thermocline and intermediate water transport, which is balanced by decrease in the southward upper North Atlantic Deep Water transport at both sections. The AMOC strength of the inverse solution agrees well with that of dynamically consistent and data-constrained ocean state estimate GECCO2 (15.8 ± 3.4 Sv at 14.5° N, and 17.7 ± 3.6 Sv at 24.5° N) and derived by the RAPID array data (16.9 ± 4.4 Sv), but is generally smaller than that derived by the MOVE array data (24.1 ± 4.1 Sv). Instead of any long-term trend, the GECCO2 shows strong seasonal to interannual variability of the AMOC at both latitudes, which may explain the observed changes of the AMOC in the box inverse model. Sensitivity tests of the inverse solution suggest that the overturning structure and heat flux across the 14.5° N section are sensitive to the Ekman transport, while freshwater flux is sensitive to the transport-weighted salinity at the western boundary.

Description: Localized open-ocean low–oxygen dead-zones in the tropical Northeast Atlantic are recently discovered ocean features that can develop in dynamically isolated water masses within cyclonic eddies (CE) and anticyclonic modewater eddies (ACME). Analysis of a comprehensive oxygen dataset obtained from gliders, moorings, research vessels and Argo floats revealed that eddies with low oxygen concentrations at 50–150 m depths can be found in surprisingly high numbers and in a large area (from about 4°N to 22°N, from the shelf at the eastern boundary to 38°W). Minimum oxygen concentrations of about 9 µmol kg−1 in CEs and severely suboxic concentrations (〈 1 µmol kg−1) in ACMEs were observed. In total, 173 profiles with oxygen concentrations below the minimum background concentration of 40 µmol kg−1 could be associated with 27 independent “dead-zone” eddies (10 CEs; 17 ACMEs) over a period of 10 years. The eddies’ oxygen minimum is located in the eddy core beneath the mixed layer at a mean depth of 80 m. Compared to the surrounding waters, the mean oxygen anomaly between 50 and 150 m depth for CEs (ACMEs) is −38 (−79) µmol kg−1. The low oxygen concentration right beneath the mixed layer has been attributed to the combination of high productivity in the eddies’ surface waters and the isolation of their cores with respect to lateral oxygen supply. Indeed, eddies of both types feature a cold sea surface temperature anomaly and enhanced chlorophyll concentrations in their center. The locally increased consumption within these eddies represents an essential part of the total consumption in the open tropical Northeast Atlantic Ocean and might be partly responsible for the formation of the shallow oxygen minimum zone. Eddies south of 12°N carry weak hydrographic anomalies in their cores and seem to be generated in the open ocean away from the boundary. North of 12°N, eddies of both types carry anomalously low salinity water of South Atlantic Central Water origin from the eastern boundary upwelling region into the open ocean. Water mass properties and satellite eddy tracking both point to an eddy generation near the eastern boundary.

Description: The occurrence of mesoscale eddies that develop suboxic environments at shallow depth (about 40–100 m) has recently been reported for the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA). Their hydrographic structure suggests that the water mass inside the eddy is well isolated from ambient waters supporting the development of severe near-surface oxygen deficits. So far, hydrographic and biogeochemical characterization of these eddies was limited to a few autonomous surveys, with the use of moorings, underwater gliders and profiling floats. In this study we present results from the first dedicated biogeochemical survey of one of these eddies conducted in March 2014 near the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO). During the survey the eddy core showed oxygen concentrations as low as 5 µmol kg−1 with a pH of around 7.6 at approximately 100 m depth. Correspondingly, the aragonite saturation level dropped to 1 at the same depth, thereby creating unfavorable conditions for calcifying organisms. To our knowledge, such enhanced acidity within near-surface waters has never been reported before for the open Atlantic Ocean. Vertical distributions of particulate organic matter and dissolved organic matter (POM and DOM), generally showed elevated concentrations in the surface mixed layer (0–70 m), with DOM also accumulating beneath the oxygen minimum. With the use of reference data from the upwelling region where these eddies are formed, the oxygen utilization rate was calculated by determining oxygen consumption through the remineralization of organic matter. Inside the core, we found these rates were almost 1 order of magnitude higher (apparent oxygen utilization rate (aOUR); 0.26 µmol kg−1 day−1) than typical values for the open North Atlantic. Computed downward fluxes for particulate organic carbon (POC), were around 0.19 to 0.23 g C m−2 day−1 at 100 m depth, clearly exceeding fluxes typical for an oligotrophic open-ocean setting. The observations support the view that the oxygen-depleted eddies can be viewed as isolated, westwards propagating upwelling systems of their own, thereby represent re-occurring alien biogeochemical environments in the ETNA.