On gyre interactions

The principal meeting point of the subtropical and subpolar gyres of the North Atlantic is at the Tail of the Grand Banks where the two western boundary currents, the Gulf Stream and Labrador Current, join forces as the North Atlantic Current, which flows northeast almost 10° in latitude before turning east as the Subpolar Front, ultimately feeding the Labrador and Nordic Seas and the thermohaline overturning. After the Gulf Stream turns into the North Atlantic Current at the Grand Banks, its role shifts from a wind-driven current to a link in the large-scale thermohaline circulation. The processes governing this transition, in particular the continued transport north of mass and heat, are questions of considerable climatic importance. The North Atlantic Current is a very unusual western boundary current in that its mass transport decreases in the downstream direction.The mean path and annual shifting of the eastward flowing Gulf Stream is conjectured to result from a time-varying shelf-Slope Water overflow of waters from the Labrador shelf. As the volume transport increases in fall and deepens the Slope Water pycnocline, it forces the Gulf Stream south and deepens the Sargasso Sea thermocline as well. The timing of these steps governs the June maximum in baroclinic transport. There is some evidence that this ‘back-door’ gyre interaction may operate on interannual time scales as well. The question then arises whether the shelf-to-Slope Water Sea transport also plays a role in governing the separation of the Gulf Stream.The widely observed robustness of the width of the Gulf Stream appears to result from a tight balance between the release of available potential energy and the kinetic energy of the current. A broader current would release more energy than can be ‘disposed of’, while a narrower current requires more kinetic energy than is available to sustain it. It is shown that for plausible dissipation rates in the recirculation gyres, the amount of energy that needs to be expelled from the Gulf Stream is such a small fraction of that advected through as to be vitually undetectable, hence the stiffness of the current.     

Mechanism for the Formation of Temperature Anomalies in the Upper Layer of the North Atlantic

ORA-S3 oceanological reanalysis data for 1959–2011 is applied to analyze the role different factors play in forming advective heat transfer anomalies on an interannual–decadal scale in the upper mixed layer of the North Atlantic. Regions are revealed in which horizontal heat advection anomalies are determined by variations in current intensity, temperature gradients, and their joint influence. It is demonstrated that the contribution of different mechanisms responsible for advective heat transfer anomalies in the upper mixed layer to the total anomalies of advective origin varies fundamentally from one current to another in the North Atlantic. In the Gulf Stream area (after it separates from the continental slope), horizontal heat advection anomalies in the upper mixed layer result mainly from fluctuations in current intensity, while in the Caribbean Current and the Gulf Stream area (until its separation), they result from variations in the horizontal temperature gradients in the upper mixed layer. In the Labrador Current, both of these mechanisms have the same sign and approximately the same absolute values. In the East Greenland Current, they compensate each other. The contribution of anomalies in horizontal temperature gradients transferred by anomalous currents to the formation of heat transfer anomalies in the upper layer of the North Atlantic are, on the whole, relatively small throughout the water area. The areas of the North Atlantic and West Greenland currents are exceptions.     

Influence of the interaction between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean on the Gulf Stream

Numerical experiments with the circulation model of the North Atlantic based on the splitting algorithms in the σ-coordinate system with a spatial resolution allowing for reproducing synoptic eddies were performed in two versions: with the Arctic Ocean and without it (boundary along 78°N). They showed that the account for the water exchange with the Arctic is fundamentally important for reproducing jet dynamics at the western boundary of the Atlantic down to the subtropical zone. The influence of the conditions at the liquid boundary that separates the Atlantic and the Arctic extends not only over the subarctic area [29] but is also “transferred” by the Labrador Current and the Slope Water Current (SWC) to the area of the Gulf Stream proper. One cannot properly describe the detachment of the Gulf Stream from the coast without adequate reproducing of the Labrador Current and SWC. An hypothesis is posed that the location of the detachment region at 35°N is caused by strong vertical motions at the interface between the SWC and the Gulf Stream jet with horizontal velocities that are almost equal to those at the exit from the Florida Strait. A comparison of the model circulation with that retrieved from the hydrological data and the drift of neutral buoyancy floats [14, 22] showed both qualitative and quantitative coincidences of the features of the northward warm water transfer such as the streamline around the so-called northwestern “corner” (motion “along the topography”) and the jet-wise transport of these waters from Labrador to the northeast inside a kind of “pipeline,” which is limited in the upper baroclinic layer 1 km thick by mean velocity contour lines of about 10 cm/s. A comparison between the experimental [19] and model fields of the ocean level showed that, at the absence of direct representation of the water (mass) exchange between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, the decrease of the gradient velocities in the Gulf Stream may reach 30%.     

Freshwater export from the Labrador Current to the North Atlantic Current at the Tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

Historical hydrographic data, spanning the period 1896–2006, are used to examine the annual mean and seasonal variations in the distribution of freshwater along and across the shelf/slope boundary along the Labrador and Newfoundland Shelves and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Particular attention is paid to the export of freshwater along the eastern Grand Banks, between Flemish Cap and the Tail of the Grand Banks, as this has long been identified as a preferential region for the loss of mass and freshwater from the boundary. The data are combined into isopycnally averaged long-term annual and monthly mean gridded property fields and the evolving distribution of fresh arctic-origin water is analyzed in fields of salinity anomaly, expressed as departures from the “central water” temperature–salinity relation of the Gulf Stream. The climatology confirms that cold/fresh northern-source waters are advected offshore within the retroflecting Labrador Current along the full length of the boundary between Flemish Cap and the Tail of the Grand Banks. In fact, it is estimated that most of the equatorward baroclinic transport at the boundary must retroflect back toward the north in order to explain the annual mean distribution of salinity in the climatology. While the retroflection of the Labrador Current appears seasonally robust, the freshwater distribution within the retroflection region varies in response to (1) the freshness of the water available for export which is set by the arrival and rapid flushing of the seasonal freshwater pulse at the boundary, (2) seasonal buoyancy forcing at the surface which alters the vertical stratification across the retroflection region, restricting certain isopycnal export pathways, and (3) the density structure along the eastern Grand Banks, which defines the progressive retroflection of the Labrador Current.     

Spin-up and spin-down processes of the large cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan

Time variation of the cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan, which was formed in August 1975 and disappeared in August 1980, is studied. Its lifecycle includes several repetitions of spin-down and spin-up processes. The spin-down (or the spin-up) process is accompanied by warming (cooling) of the cold water mass and descending (ascending) motion of the inner water. Expansion of the cold water area is also associated with the spin-up period while shrinking occurs in the spin-down period. The rate of spin-down of the cold water mass is approximately equal to that of the Gulf Stream rings. The spin-up process is not observed in the Gulf Stream rings and the longer lifetime of the cold water mass off Japan, in comparison with the Gulf Stream rings, is due to the existence of the spin-up periods. The spin-up process tends to occur in late spring to summer, and it seems to be related to the seasonal variation in intensity of the Kuroshio.     

Interannual variations in the components of heat budget in the upper layer of the North Atlantic in different seasons

Seasonal variability of interannual fluctuations of the heat balance components of the upper quasi-homogeneous ocean layer (UQL) in the North Atlantic is analyzed by processing the reanalysis data set for the period of 1959–2011. It is shown that interannual variations in the components of the UQL heat budget are characterized by pronounced regional features in all seasons. In the tropics and subtropics, heat balance is quasistationary and is determined by the nonlocal processes, such as heat advection and horizontal mixing. In the subpolar latitudes, nonstationarity (in the spring) and heat fluxes at the UQL boundary (in the autumn and in the winter) are also important. A major role in the interannual variability of the UQL temperature in the vicinity of jet currents of the Gulf Stream type is played in all seasons by the fluctuations of horizontal heat advection. However, the contribution of interannual fluctuations of the individual components of the heat budget to variability of the UQL temperature varies considerably in different seasons. The interannual fluctuations of the local variation in the UQL temperature are characterized by the largest variability in the spring and the lowest one in the autumn. The greatest contribution of the variations in the horizontal heat advection to the change in the UQL temperature at the interannual scale is recorded in the winter, and the lowest one is in the summer. The contribution of the interannual variations in the heat fluxes at the UQL upper boundary to the variability of the UQL temperature is the highest in the summer and the lowest in the autumn. Fluctuations of the heat fluxes at the UQL lower boundary do not have a significant impact on the interannual variations in the UQL temperature for the whole water area. The exception is small areas in the region of the formation of the North Atlantic deep water in the autumn–winter period and in the vicinity of the Equatorial Counter Current in the spring–summer period.     

The connection between Labrador Sea buoyancy loss, deep western boundary current strength, and Gulf Stream path in an ocean circulation model

The sensitivity of the North Atlantic gyre circulation to high latitude buoyancy forcing is explored in a global, non-eddy resolving ocean general circulation model. Increased buoyancy forcing strengthens the deep western boundary current, the northern recirculation gyre, and the North Atlantic Current, which leads to a more realistic Gulf Stream path. High latitude density fluxes and surface water mass transformation are strongly dependent on the choice of sea ice and salinity restoring boundary conditions. Coupling the ocean model to a prognostic sea ice model results in much greater buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea compared to simulations in which the ocean is forced by prescribed sea ice boundary conditions. A comparison of bulk flux forced hindcast simulations which differ only in their sea ice and salinity restoring forcings reveals the effects of a mixed thermohaline boundary condition transport feedback whereby small, positive temperature and salinity anomalies in subpolar regions are amplified when the gyre spins up as a result of increased buoyancy loss and convection. The primary buoyancy flux effects of the sea ice which cause the simulations to diverge are ice melt, which is less physical in the diagnostic sea ice model, and insulation of the ocean, which is less physical with the prognostic sea ice model. Increased salinity restoring ensures a more realistic net winter buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea, but it is found that improvements in the Gulf Stream simulation can only be achieved with the excessive buoyancy loss associated with weak salinity restoring.     

The shedding of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies from the Alaskan Stream and westward transport of warm water

The south-flowing waters of the Kamchatka and Oyashio Currents and west-flowing waters of the Alaskan Stream are key components of the western sub-Arctic Pacific circulation. We use CTD data, Argo buoys, WOCE surface drifters, and satellite-derived sea-level observations to investigate the structure and interannual changes in this system that arise from interactions among anticyclonic eddies and the mean flow. Variability in the temperature of the upstream Oyashio and Kamchatka Currents is evident by warming in mesothermal layer in 1994–2005 compared to 1990–1991. A major fraction of the water in these currents is derived directly from the Alaskan Stream. The stream also sheds large anticyclonic (Aleutian) eddies, averaging approximately 300 km in diameter with a volume transport significant in comparison with that of the Kamchatka Current itself. These eddies enclose pools of relatively warm and saline water whose temperature is typically 4 °C warmer and salinity is 0.4 greater than that of cold-core Kamchatka eddies in the same density range. Aleutian eddies drift at approximately 1.2 km d⁻¹ and retain their distinctive warm and salty characteristics for at least 2 years. Selected westward pathways during 1990–2004 are identified. If the shorter northern route is followed, Aleutian eddies remain close to the stream and persist sufficiently long to carry warm and saline water directly to the Kamchatka Current. This was observed during 1994–1997 with substantial warming of the waters in the Kamchatka Current and upstream Oyashio. If the eddies take a more southern route they detach from the stream but can still contribute significant quantities of warm and saline water to the upstream Oyashio, as in 2004–2005. However, the eddies following this southern route may dissipate before reaching the western boundary current region.     

Seasonal patterns in zooplankton community structure on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf

We report on the patterns in zooplankton community structure on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf from seasonal collections along oceanographic sections during 2000–2007. We use a combination of constrained and unconstrained multivariate methods to assess latitudinal and cross shelf patterns in community structure. Both physical and biological features of the region are dominated by the cross-shelf gradient in water mass characteristics although there is evidence of a latitudinal gradient that may be a reflection of the influence of freshwater outflow from the Arctic. All analyses reveal a strong and consistent pattern in species composition among water masses that extends across spring, summer and autumn, although there are some variations that occur among seasons that reflect differences in development state of certain taxa. The strong association between community structure and water mass characteristics in the region may be the result of the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf being at the intersection of several major oceanographic domains, bounded by strong Labrador and Gulf Stream currents, that allows the formation and persistence of well defined zooplankton communities. Our findings have implications for the region’s potential as a monitoring location for long term changes in ocean state.     

Seasonal variability of water transport through the Straits of Gibraltar, Sicily and Corsica, derived from a high-resolution model of the Mediterranean circulation

The variability of the water transport through three major straits of the Mediterranean Sea (Gibraltar, Sicily and Corsica) was investigated using a high-resolution model. This model of the Mediterranean circulation was developed in the context of the Mercator project.The region of interest is the western Mediterranean between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Sicily. The major water masses and the winter convection in the Gulf of Lions were simulated. The model reproduced the meso-scale and large-scale patterns of the circulation in very good agreement with recent observations. The western and the eastern gyres of the Alboran Sea were observed but high interannual variability was noticed. The Algerian Current splits into several branches at the longitude of the Strait of Sicily level, forming the Tyrrhenian branch, and, the Atlantic Ionian Stream and the Atlantic Tunisian Current in the eastern Mediterranean. The North Current retroflexed north of the Balearic Islands and a dome structure was observed in the Gulf of Lions. The cyclonic barotropic Algerian gyre, which was recently observed during the MATER and ELISA experiment, was evidenced in the simulation.From time-series of 10-day mean transport, the three straits presented a high variability at short time-scales. The transport was generally maximum, in April for the Strait of Gibraltar, in November for the Strait of Sicily, and in January for the Strait of Corsica. The amplitudes of the transport through the Straits of Gibraltar (0.11 Sv) and Sicily (0.30 Sv) presented a weaker seasonal variability than that of the Strait of Corsica (0.70 Sv).The study of the relation between transport and wind forcing showed that the transport through the Strait of Gibraltar is dependent on local zonal wind over short time-scales (70%), which was not the case for the other straits (less than 30%). The maximum (minimum) of the transport occurred for an eastward (westward) wind stress in the strait. An interannual event was noticed in November–December 2001, which corresponded to a very low transport (0.3 Sv), which was characterised by a cyclonic circulation in the western Alboran Sea. That circulation was also reproduced by the model for other periods than winter during the interannual simulation.The transport through the Strait of Sicily is not influenced by local wind.The wind stress curl of the northwestern Mediterranean influenced the transport through the Strait of Corsica.     

Recent changes of the halocline characteristics and warming of the intermediate water in the Kamchatka current and the Oyashio

The upper Oyashio intermediate water, one of the source waters for the Sea of Okhotsk intermediate water, is exhibiting a warming trend. The historical data show that the upper Oyashio temperature increased by 2.4°C during 1953 to 2007 at the potential density of 26.75 at depths of approximately 170 m. This rate of warming is much faster than that of the global ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. The upper Oyashio warming is likely linked to the penetration of warm water of the Alaskan Stream westward. One mechanism of this warm Alaskan Stream water penetration is associated with large Aleutian eddies.     

Physical controls and interannual variability of the Labrador Sea spring phytoplankton bloom in distinct regions

We investigated the variability of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Labrador Sea, dividing into distinct biogeographical zones, then analyzing the relationship between the bloom and physical forcings. The spring phytoplankton bloom in the north Labrador Sea varied in intensity by a factor of 4 and in timing of onset by 3 weeks over the 11-year record from SeaWiFS satellite ocean chlorophyll, 1998–2008. This north bloom (north of 60 °N and west of the Labrador shelves) is earliest and most intense, owing in part to the offshore-directed freshwater stratification from the West Greenland Current. On interannual timescales, significant correlations were found between the north bloom intensity and ocean processes, namely offshore advection, eddy activity and runoff from Greenland. In contrast, the central Labrador Sea is later and weaker, and only a correlation between the bloom timing and irradiance was found. As the subpolar gyre shifts in strength and shape, freshwater outflow from the Arctic and Greenland changes, we may expect further changes in the biological response as indicated by these relationships.     

Circulation

Low-frequency current and temperature variability on the southeast US continental shelf during summer conditions of weak wind forcing and vertical stratification was found to be similar in many aspects to previous findings for winter, when stronger wind forcing and vertical homogeneity prevails. Subtidal variability in the outer shelf is dominated by the weekly occurrence of Gulf Stream frontal eddies and meanders. These baroclinic events strongly affect the balance of momentum in the outer shelf, but not at mid-shelf. A negative alongshore sea level slope of order −10⁻⁷ is required to balance mean along-shelf momentum at the shelf edge, similar to oceanic estimates, and can contribute to the observed northward mean flow over the shelf.Low-frequency flow at mid-shelf and coastal sea level fluctuations appear to occur as a forced wave response to local alongshore wind stress events that are coherent over the shelf domain. Momentum balances indicate a trapped wave response similar to the arrested topographic wave found in the mid-Atlantic Bight (CSANADY, 1978). Density driven currents from river discharge do not appear to be significant at mid-shelf. Cold, subsurface intrusions of deeper, nutrient rich Gulf Stream waters can occasionally penetrate to mid- and inner-shelf regions north of Cape Canaveral, causing strong phytoplankton and zooplankton responses. These events were observed following the simultaneous occurrence of upwellings from northward winds and Gulf Stream frontal eddies at the shelf break during periods when the Stream was in an onshore position. Subsurface Gulf Stream intrusions to mid-shelf occur only during the summer, when the shelf is vertically stratified and cross-shelf density gradients do not present a barrier as in winter.     

大西洋热盐环流年代际变化机制研究Ⅱ．热盐环流年际和年代际变化机制研究

基于德国Max-Planck气象研究所的最新大气海洋环流模式(ECHAM5/MPI-OM),对控制试验(control run)下热盐环流(THC)年际及年代际变化进行了分析,揭示了年代际变率的产生机制。研究表明:(1)THC年际振荡的主导周期是4 a,年代际振荡的主导周期是24 a,THC的年代际振荡信号最强,是第一主成分。(2)THC的年代际振荡机制为:首先从大西洋径向翻转环流(MOC)强度最小开始,由于MOC强度处于较弱状态,从低纬度向高纬度输送的热量偏少,副极地海区海表温度出现负异常,持续5 a之后,北大西洋副极地海区海表温度达到最大负异常。此时副极地流环中心(北大西洋)的表层海水变冷,密度增加,海表面下降,产生从副极地流环边缘指向副极地流环的中心的压强梯度力,根据地转平衡关系,北大西洋副极地海区的上层海洋会出现一个气旋式的环流异常(副极地流环得到加强),北大西洋暖流(NAC)同时得到加强。在副极地海区海表温度达到最大负异常的3 a之后,副极地流环和NAC达到最强。由此,作为NAC延伸的法鲁海峡入流水增强,更多的高盐法鲁海峡入流水进入格陵兰-冰岛-挪威海(GIN)海域,使GIN海域层结稳定性减弱。1 a后,GIN海域深层对流增强,格陵兰-苏格兰海脊溢流水增加。在GIN海域深层对流达到最强的3 a之后,MOC强度达到最大。整个状态翻转过程完成的时间大约为12 a,THC年代际振荡的整个周期大约是24 a。     

Continental slope sea level and flow variability induced by lateral movements of the Gulf Stream in the Middle Atlantic Bight

As described by [Csanady, G.T., Hamilton, P., 1988. Circulation of slope water. Continental Shelf Research 8, 565–624], the flow regime over the slope of the southern Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) includes a current reversal in which southwestward flow over the upper and middle slope becomes entrained in the northeastward current adjacent to the Gulf Stream. In this paper we use satellite-derived data to quantify how lateral motions of the Gulf Stream impact this current system. In our analysis, the Gulf Stream’s thermal front is delineated using a two-year time series of sea surface temperature derived from NOAA/AVHRR satellite data. Lateral motions of the Gulf Stream are represented in terms of temporal variations of the area, east of 73°W, between the Gulf Stream thermal front and the shelf edge. Variations of slope water flow within this area are represented by anomalies of geostrophic velocity as derived from the time series of the sea level anomaly determined from TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter data. A strong statistical relationship is found between Gulf Stream displacements and parabathic flow over the continental slope. It is such that the southwestward flow over the slope is accelerated when the Gulf Stream is relatively far from the shelf edge, and is decelerated (and perhaps even reversed) when the Gulf Stream is close to the shelf edge. This relationship between Gulf Stream displacements and parabathic flow is also observed in numerical simulations produced by the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Model. In qualitative terms, it is consistent with the notion that when the Gulf Stream is closer to the 200-m isobath, it is capable of entraining a larger fraction of shelf water masses. Alternatively, when the Gulf Stream is far from the shelf-break, more water is advected into the MAB slope region from the northeast. Analysis of the diabathic flow indicates that much of the cross-slope transport by which the southwestward flow entering the study region is transferred to the northeastward flow exiting the region occurs in a narrow band roughly centered at 36.75°N, order 150 km north of Cape Hatteras. This transport, and thus the cyclonic circulation of the southern MAB, strengthens when the Gulf Stream is relatively close to the shelf edge, and weakens when the Gulf Stream is far from the shelf edge.     

Low-frequency variations of the Gulf-Stream transport: description and mechanisms

On the basis of the contemporary array of oceanographic and hydrometeorological data, we compute the characteristics of variations of the Gulf-Stream transport in 1950–2004. The role played by the low-frequency oscillations of vorticity of the wind field and turbulent heat fluxes in the North Atlantic in the formation of the analyzed variations is estimated. We reveal a significant (on a 5% confidence level) positive linear trend of the monthly average Gulf-Stream transport manifested in the increase in the Gulf-Stream transport by 13 Sv for the investigated period. On the basis of the established estimates, we make a conclusion that about a quarter of the interannual variations of the Gulf-Stream transport is caused by the low-frequency oscillations of vorticity of the wind field in the Subtropical Atlantic. Moreover, the Gulf-Stream transport is delayed relative to the wind oscillations by about 2 yr. An important role in the changes in the Gulf-Stream transport is played by the response of the system of west boundary currents to the quasiperiodic action of turbulent heat fluxes on the surface of the ocean connected with the North-Atlantic Oscillation. The intensification of turbulent heat fluxes in the Northern Subpolar Cyclonic Gyre and their weakening in the north part of the Subtropical Anticyclonic Gyre are accompanied by the intensification of the Gulf Stream observed after 3–5 yr. The anomalies of turbulent heat fluxes of the opposite sign are followed by weakening of the Gulf Stream also after a period of 3–5 yr. We also mention a potentially important role played the Pacific decadal oscillation in maintaining the decadal variations of the intensity of Gulf Stream. The influence of this oscillation on the Gulf-Stream transport is realized both via the changes in the wind field in different phases of oscillations and due to its influence on the heat exchange of the ocean with the atmosphere.     

Numerical Simulation of the Gulf Stream and the Deep Circulation

The Gulf Stream system has been numerically simulated with relatively high resolution and realistic forcing. The surface fluxes of the simulation were obtained from archives of calculations from the Eta-29 km model which is an National Center for Environment Prediction (NCEP) operational atmospheric prediction model; synoptic fields are available every 3 hour. A comparison between experiments with and without surface fluxes shows that the effect of the surface wind stress and heat fluxes on the Gulf Stream path and separation is closely related to the intensification of deep circulations in the northern region. Additionally, the separation of the Gulf Stream and the downslope movement of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) are reproduced in the model results. The model DWBC crosses under the Gulf Stream southeast of Cape Hatteras and then feeds the deep cyclonic recirculation east of the Bahamas. The model successfully reproduces the cross-sectional vertical structures of the Gulf Stream, such as the asymmetry of the velocity profile, and this structure is sustained along the downstream axis. The distribution of Root Mean Square (RMS) elevation anomaly of the model shows that the eddy activity of the Gulf Stream is realistically reproduced by the model physics. The entrainment of the upper layer slope current into the Gulf Stream occurs near cross-over; the converging cross-stream flow is nearly barotropic. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The impact of environmental gradients on the early life inshore migration of the short-finned squid Illex illecebrosus

Recruitment of the short-finned squid Illex illecebrosus to adult feeding grounds on the shelf off eastern Canada constitutes an important transition from warm food-limited Gulf Stream waters to cold and productive slope and coastal waters. The impact of such gradients was addressed by analysing the gladius growth of 1585 juvenile squid collected across the Gulf Stream and shelf/slope fronts during research cruises conducted between 1979 and 1989. Temperature- and size-specific growth potential, as estimated by a bioenergetics model, were compared to measured gladius growth rates and revealed that young Illex were energetically expensive and food-limited in Gulf Stream waters (their hatching environment). Growth condition improved inshore, where metabolic costs decreased and more food became available. Similar patterns were observed when size-specific growth rates of squid caught across the temperature and food gradients were directly compared. In addition, transport processes in the Gulf Stream and slope water played an important role in providing access and retention in favourable areas. Juvenile onshore migration seems to be driven by elevated food requirements and involves physiological adaptations to compensate for decreasing temperatures. The individual "success" in terms of growth and survival may depend, however, on access to concentrated patches of food which, in turn, will be determined by timing and the transport dynamics of the main water masses.     

Hydrographic structure and circulation in the central area of the North Eastern Atlantic

On the basis of the hydrographic data observed within the Canary Basin in autumn 1985, temperature-salinity properties, distributions of water masses and barocltne flow field, as well as the volume transports in this area are described more detailly. The analyses indicate that the activity in the waters of the Canary Basin is mainly attributed to the interleaving and mixing between the originated water masses (e. g. Surface Water, North Atlantic Central Water, Mediterranean Water and Deep Water) and the modified water masses (Subpolar Mode Water, Labrador Sea Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water) from the outside of the study area and the variation of themselves. The east recirculation of the Subtropic Gyre in the North Atlantic consists of Azores Current and Canary Current.Azores Current is formed with several flow branches around the Azores Island, while the main flow lies at 35?N south of the Azores Island. It begins to diverge near the 15?W. The return flow found off the Portugal coast may be its     

Structure,transport and potential vorticity of the Gulf Stream at 68°W: Revisiting older data sets with new techniques

The stream-coordinates mean structure of the Gulf Stream at 68°W is derived using new methods for both defining stream coordinates and interpreting bottom pressure and inverted echo sounder travel times collected during the extensive Synoptic Ocean Prediction experiment. These new analyses provide pictures of the vertical structure of Gulf Stream flows that are demonstrably dynamically consistent with the density field at all depths, in contrast to previous work that relies on simple vertical interpolations to fill gaps between sparse current meter measurements. This new view of the Gulf Stream suggests a slightly higher total mean transport, with the increases coming from both baroclinic and barotropic components, and slightly stronger recirculation cells, particularly on the southern side. The recirculation of the Gulf Stream appears to have a weak baroclinic component, perhaps 10% of the total. A significant advantage of the methodology is the ability to obtain sensible vertical and horizontal gradients of currents and density so that the vertical and cross-stream structures of the components of the mean potential vorticity can be clearly imaged. One new feature from this calculation is that the along-stream gradient of the cross-stream velocity, a term that is often ignored in potential vorticity analyses, is non-negligible (though small) and is asymmetric about the current axis. Both the derived structure and implied dynamics of the circulation can be significantly altered by small changes to the method of calculating daily stream coordinates, e.g., by carefully filtering out observations in rings or not. Arrays of pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders provide the opportunity (at reasonable cost) for properly defining the stream coordinates of energetic jets such as the Gulf Stream.