Observations of a small-scale baroclinic eddy in the Ligurian Sea

Abstract Field and satellite observations of a superficial small-scale marine eddy (radius about 6 km, lying in the surface mixed layer, i.e., 50 to 100 m deep, with Rossby number ϵ i = 0.6 to 0.8 in the Ligurain Sea are discussed. The shape and the dynamical characteristics of the eddy have been compared with the results of theoretical models of baroclinic instability of the large-scale currents in the Ligurian Sea.