Detection of Mediterranean lenses in the Atlantic ocean by profilers of the Argo project

We executed investigations of Mediterranean lenses detection in the Atlantic using data recorded by buoys-profilers of the “Argo” project (more than 11200 profiles). We investigate the region from 28° to 47° N and from 7° to 27° W for the period from 2001 to 2010. From these data, we revealed “lenses profiles” with the salinity values exceeding 36 psu (2043 cases). We demonstrate the allocation of Argo buoys in the area investigated and indicate their working periods; we also show the periodicity of the “lenses profiles.” It was found out that the Argo buoys traced individual lenses and depicted correctly their movements, the vertical scale of the eddy, its location in the depth, and the hydrological peculiarities of the lenses. We estimated the number of lenses occurring in different periods and analyzed the interaction of the Argo buoy with the intrathermocline lenses. The importance of these investigations for studying the Mediterranean water dynamics was pointed out.