Continuous Flow of Upper Labrador Sea Water around Cape Hatteras

Six velocity sections straddling Cape Hatteras show a deep counterflow rounding the Cape wedged beneath the poleward flowing Gulf Stream and the continental slope. This counterflow is likely the upper part of the equatorward-flowing Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Hydrographic data suggest tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2018-03, Vol.8 (1), p.4494-8, Article 4494
Main Authors: Andres, Magdalena, Muglia, Mike, Bahr, Frank, Bane, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/106/829
704/829/2737
Boundary layer
Chemical analysis
Continental slope
Continuous flow
Floats
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Ocean currents
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Seawater
Tracers
Velocity
Water analysis
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Summary:Six velocity sections straddling Cape Hatteras show a deep counterflow rounding the Cape wedged beneath the poleward flowing Gulf Stream and the continental slope. This counterflow is likely the upper part of the equatorward-flowing Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Hydrographic data suggest that the equatorward flow sampled by the shipboard 38 kHz ADCP comprises the Upper Labrador Sea Water (ULSW) layer and top of the Classical Labrador Sea Water (CLSW) layer. Continuous DWBC flow around the Cape implied by the closely-spaced velocity sections here is also corroborated by the trajectory of an Argo float. These findings contrast with previous studies based on floats and tracers in which the lightest DWBC constituents did not follow the boundary to cross under the Gulf Stream at Cape Hatteras but were diverted into the interior as the DWBC encountered the Gulf Stream in the crossover region. Additionally, our six quasi-synoptic velocity sections confirm that the Gulf Stream intensified markedly at that time as it approached the separation point and flowed into deeper waters. Downstream increases were observed not only in the poleward transport across the sections but also in the current’s maximum speed.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-22758-z