Transport of Middle Atlantic Bight shelf water to the Gulf Stream near Cape Hatteras

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (C13) ◽  
pp. 30605-30621 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Churchill ◽  
Thomas J. Berger
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Shelf Water ◽  
Middle Atlantic Bight ◽  
Middle Atlantic ◽  
Cape Hatteras

scholarly journals The Origin of Along-Shelf Pressure Gradient in the Middle Atlantic Bight

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1720-1740 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.-H. Xu ◽  
L.-Y. Oey
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Middle Atlantic Bight ◽  
Middle Atlantic ◽  
Sea Surface Slopes ◽  
Cape Hatteras

Abstract It is quite widely accepted that the along-shelf pressure gradient (ASPG) contributes in driving shelf currents in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) off the northeastern U.S. coast; its origin, however, remains a subject for debate. Based on analyses of 16 yr (1993–2008) of satellite, tide gauge, river, and wind data and numerical experiments, the authors suggest that river and Coastal Labrador Sea Water (CLSW) transport contribute to a positive mean ASPG (tilt up northward) in the ratio of approximately 1:7 (i.e., CLSW dominates), whereas wind and the Gulf Stream tend to produce a negative mean ASPG in the ratio of approximately 1:6. Data also indicate seasonal and interannual variations of ASPG that correlate with the Gulf Stream’s shift and eddy kinetic energy north of the Gulf Stream (N-EKE) due to warm-core rings. A southward shift in the Gulf Stream produces a sea level drop north of Cape Hatteras, which is most rapid in winter. The N-EKE peaks in late spring to early summer and is larger in some years than others. A process model is used to show that ring propagation along the MAB slope and ring impingement upon the shelf break north of Cape Hatteras generate along-isobath density gradients and cross-shelfbreak transports that produce sea level change on the shelf; the dominant ageostrophic term in the depth-integrated vorticity balance is the joint effect of baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR) term. In particular, the shelf’s sea surface slopes down to the north when rings approach Cape Hatteras.

scholarly journals A Shelf Water Cascading Event near Cape Hatteras

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Han ◽  
Harvey Seim ◽  
John Bane ◽  
Robert E. Todd ◽  
Mike Muglia
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
South Atlantic Bight ◽  
Shelf Water ◽  
Carbon Export ◽  
Middle Atlantic ◽  
Cape Hatteras

AbstractCarbon-rich Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) and South Atlantic Bight (SAB) shelf waters typically converge on the continental shelf near Cape Hatteras. Both are often exported to the adjacent open ocean in this region. During a survey of the region in mid-January 2018, there was no sign of shelf water export at the surface. Instead, a subsurface layer of shelf water with high chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen was observed at the edge of the Gulf Stream east of Cape Hatteras. Strong cooling over the MAB and SAB shelves in early January led to shelf waters being denser than offshore surface waters. Driven by the density gradient, the denser shelf waters cascaded beneath the Gulf Stream and were subsequently entrained into the Gulf Stream, as they were advected northeastward. Underwater glider observations 80 km downstream of the export location captured 0.44 Sv of shelf waters transported along the edge of the Gulf Stream in January 2018. In total, as much as 7×106 kg of carbon was exported from the continental shelf to a greater depth in the open ocean during this 5-day-long cascading event. Earlier observations of near-bottom temperature and salinity at a depth of 230 m captured several multiday episodes of shelf water at a location that was otherwise dominated by Gulf Stream water, indicating that the January 2018 cascading event was not unique. Cascading is an important, yet little-studied pathway of carbon export and sequestration at Cape Hatteras.

A Gulf Stream-derived pycnocline intrusion on the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf

1990 ◽  
Vol 95 (C12) ◽  
pp. 22305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Gawarkiewicz ◽  
Robert K. McCarthy ◽  
Kenneth Barton ◽  
Ann K. Masse ◽  
Thomas M. Church
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Middle Atlantic Bight ◽  
Middle Atlantic
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