Rapid Evolution of a Gulf Stream Warm-Core Ring

Authors

Terrence Joyce, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Richard Backus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Karen Baker, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Patricia Blackwelder, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Otis Brown, University of Miami
Timothy Cowles, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Robert Evans, University of Miami
Greta Fryxell, Texas A&M University
David Mountain, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Donald Olson, University of Miami
Ronald Schlitz, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Raymond Schmitt, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Peter Smith, Bedford Institute of Oceanography - Dartmouth, Canada
Raymond Smith, University of California - Santa Barbara
Peter Wiebe, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-26-1984

Publication Title

Nature

ISSN

0028-0836

Volume

308

Issue/No.

5962

First Page

837

Last Page

840

Abstract

Gulf Stream warm-core rings form in the Slope Water between the North American continental shelf and the Gulf Stream by the separation of a north-extending meander. The initial physical, chemical and biological properties of the core of these 100–200-km eddies are often similar to those of its parent water mass, the Sargasso Sea. A clockwise rotating remnant of the Gulf Stream circulates around the core with surface current speeds of 50–200 cm s⁻¹. Although warm-core rings can slowly change over periods of months through interactions with the surrounding Slope Water, Gulf Stream meanders, continental slope, other rings, and the atmosphere, we have now discovered that major alterations to ring structure can occur during very short periods (2–5 days) when an interaction with the Gulf Stream is particularly intense. Such short-period interactions between a ring and the Gulf Stream are a major factor governing a ring's evolution.

Comments

©1984 Nature Publishing Group

NSUWorks Citation

Terrence Joyce, Richard Backus, Karen Baker, Patricia Blackwelder, Otis Brown, Timothy Cowles, Robert Evans, Greta Fryxell, David Mountain, Donald Olson, Ronald Schlitz, Raymond Schmitt, Peter Smith, Raymond Smith, and Peter Wiebe. 1984. Rapid Evolution of a Gulf Stream Warm-Core Ring .Nature , (5962) : 837 -840. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/435.

DOI

10.1038/308837a0