Synchronicity of the Gulf Stream path downstream of Cape Hatteras and the region of maximum wind stress curl
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The Gulf Stream, a major ocean current in the North Atlantic ocean is a key component in the global redistribution of heat and is important for marine ecosystems. Based on 27 years (1993–2019) of wind reanalysis and satellite altimetry measurements, we present observational evidence that the path of this freely meandering jet after its separation from the continental slope at Cape Hatteras, aligns with the region of maximum cyclonic vorticity of the wind stress field known as the positive vorticity pool. This synchronicity between the wind stress curl maximum region and the Gulf Stream path is observed at multiple time-scales ranging from months to decades, spanning a distance of 1500 km between 70 and 55W. The wind stress curl in the positive vorticity pool is estimated to drive persistent upward vertical velocities ranging from 5 to 17 cm day−1 over its ~ 400,000 km2 area; this upwelling may supply a steady source of deep nutrients to the Slope Sea region, and can explain as much as a quarter of estimated primary productivity there.
Source: Scientific Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,590
Awards: G3952839068, Collaborative Research: Investigating the Asymmetries and Temporally Varying Nature of Gulf Stream Ring Formation, Radio Bursts and Gravity from Parsecs to Gigaparsecs, Collaborative Research: North Atlantic Dynamics - Developing and Exploiting a Long-Term Cape Hatteras Gulf Stream Time Series, Collaborative Research: Investigating the Asymmetric and Temporally Varying Nature of Gulf Stream Ring Formation
OpenAlex ID: W4401444410