Loop Current Frontal Eddies: Formation along the Campeche Bank and Impact of Coastally Trapped Waves

AbstractVelocity data from a mooring array deployed northeast of the Campeche Bank (CB) show the presence of subinertial, high-frequency (below 15 days) velocity fluctuations within the core of the northward flowing Loop Current. These fluctuations are associated with the presence of surface-intensified Loop Current frontal eddies (LCFEs), with cyclonic vorticity and diameter 30 days) that have been linked to Caribbean eddies and the LC separation process. Model results show that wind variability associated with winter cold surges are responsible for the emergence ...

[1]  V. Kourafalou,et al.  Simulating the dynamics and intensification of cyclonic Loop Current Frontal Eddies in the Gulf of Mexico , 2012 .

[2]  J. O'Brien,et al.  Seasonal circulation on the western shelf of the Gulf of Mexico using a high-resolution numerical model , 2003 .

[3]  M. Luther,et al.  Mixed Instabilities in the Gulf Stream over the Continental Slope , 1985 .

[4]  Daniel L. Rudnick,et al.  Cyclonic Eddies in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations by Underwater Gliders and Simulations by Numerical Model , 2015 .

[5]  Eric P. Chassignet,et al.  Loop Current Ring Shedding: The Formation of Cyclones and the Effect of Topography , 2005 .

[6]  E. Jarosz,et al.  Subinertial Slope-Trapped Waves in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico , 2009 .

[7]  R. Leben,et al.  A Trigger Mechanism for Loop Current Ring Separations , 2010 .

[8]  R. Lumpkin,et al.  Cyclonic activity in the eastern Gulf of Mexico: Characterization from along-track altimetry and in situ drifter trajectories , 2014 .

[9]  J. Sheinbaum,et al.  A Lagrangian approach to the Loop Current eddy separation , 2013 .

[10]  J. Sheinbaum,et al.  Impact of Caribbean cyclones on the detachment of Loop Current anticyclones , 2012 .

[11]  G. Madec,et al.  A conservative leapfrog time stepping method , 2009 .

[12]  Modelling turbulent vertical mixing sensitivity using a 1-D version of NEMO , 2014 .

[13]  J. Sheinbaum,et al.  The potential vorticity flux through the Yucatan Channel and the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico , 2002 .

[14]  Véronique Garçon,et al.  On the global estimates of geostrophic and Ekman surface currents , 2013 .

[15]  J. Sheinbaum,et al.  Structure and variability of the Yucatan and loop currents along the slope and shelf break of the Yucatan channel and Campeche bank , 2016 .

[16]  Thierry Penduff,et al.  An ERA40-based atmospheric forcing for global ocean circulation models , 2010 .

[17]  H. Hurlburt,et al.  The dynamics of the loop current and shed eddies in a numerical model of the Gulf of Mexico , 1982 .

[18]  S. Masina,et al.  An analysis of tropical instability waves in a numerical model of the Pacific Ocean: 2. Generation and energetics of the waves , 1999 .

[19]  D. R. Watts,et al.  Gulf of Mexico Loop Current path variability , 2016 .

[20]  Hyodae Seo,et al.  Eddy–Wind Interaction in the California Current System: Dynamics and Impacts , 2016 .

[21]  D. Nof,et al.  The momentum imbalance paradox , 1997 .

[22]  L. Bosart,et al.  Planetary- and Synoptic-Scale Signatures Associated with Central American Cold Surges , 1998 .

[23]  F. Bretherton,et al.  A technique for objective analysis and design of oceanographic experiments applied to MODE-73 , 1976 .

[24]  M. Jeroen Molemaker,et al.  Modulation of Wind-Work by Oceanic Current Interaction with the Atmosphere , 2016 .

[25]  Guillermo P Podesta,et al.  The Influence of Loop Current Perturbations on the Formation and Evolution of Tortugas Eddies in the Southern Straits of Florida , 1998 .

[26]  L. Oey,et al.  Why does the Loop Current tend to shed more eddies in summer and winter? , 2012 .

[27]  Kevin E. Trenberth,et al.  Estimates of Freshwater Discharge from Continents: Latitudinal and Seasonal Variations , 2002 .

[28]  J. Candela,et al.  Circulation over the continental shelf of the western and southwestern Gulf of Mexico , 2011 .

[29]  George A. Maul,et al.  Cyclonic eddies in the eastern Gulf of Mexico , 1985 .

[30]  Tommy D. Dickey,et al.  A Vector Geometry–Based Eddy Detection Algorithm and Its Application to a High-Resolution Numerical Model Product and High-Frequency Radar Surface Velocities in the Southern California Bight , 2010 .

[31]  Gustavo Goni,et al.  Oceanic mesoscale eddies as revealed by Lagrangian coherent structures , 2008 .

[32]  J. O'Brien,et al.  Cyclonic Eddies Northeast of the Campeche Bank from Altimetry Data , 2003 .

[33]  L. Oey.  Loop Current and Deep Eddies , 2008 .