Sea Level Variation as an Indicator of Florida Current Volume Transport: Comparisons with Direct Measurements

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1985-01, Vol.227 (4684), p.304-307
• Main Authors: Maul, George A., Chew, Frank, Bushnell, Mark, Mayer, Dennis A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atlantic Ocean; Correlations; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Florida; Keys; Linear regression; Marine; Marine meteorology; Measurement; Meteorology, Maritime; Observations; Ocean currents; Ocean-atmosphere interaction; Oceanographic research; Physics of the oceans; Pressure gauges; Sea level; Sea transportation; Seas; Standard error; Surface waves, tides and sea level. Seiches; Weather
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.227.4684.304

Sea level measurements from tide gauges at Miami, Florida, and Cat Cay, Bahamas, and bottom pressure measurements from a water depth of 50 meters off Jupiter, Florida, and a water depth of 10 meters off Memory Rock, Bahamas, were correlated with 81 concurrent direct volume transport observations in the Straits of Florida. Daily-averaged sea level from either gauge on the Bahamian side of the Straits was poorly correlated with transport. Bottom pressure off Jupiter had a linear coefficient of determination of r$^{2}$ = 0.93, and Miami sea level, when adjusted for weather effects, had r$^{2}$ = 0.74; the standard errors of estimating transports were $\pm $1.2 $\times $ 10$^{6}$ and $\pm $1.9 $\times $ 10$^{6}$ cubic meters per second, respectively. A linear multivariate regression, which combined bottom pressure, weather, and the submarine cable observations between Jupiter and the Bahamas, had r$^{2}$ = 0.94 with a standard error of estimating transport of $\pm $1.1 $\times $ 10$^{6}$ cubic meters per second. These results suggest that a combination of easily obtained observations is sufficient to adequately monitor the daily volume transport fluctuations of the Florida Current.