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The Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream . Image Courtesy of Benjamin Franklin. (He had it just about right) http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/temple/images/gulf_stream.gif. Justin Shapiro. Location. Western Boundary of the North Atlantic Ocean Sources: Caribbean Sea, Antilles Current

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The Gulf Stream

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  1. The Gulf Stream Image Courtesy of Benjamin Franklin. (He had it just about right) http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/temple/images/gulf_stream.gif • Justin Shapiro

  2. Location • Western Boundary of the North Atlantic Ocean • Sources: Caribbean Sea, Antilles Current • Sharp Transition zone between cold, dense water (Laborador) and warm, less dense water.

  3. Transport: Heat • Heat: 1.4 petawatts of heat • In conjunction with the Hadley Circulation, this heat transport moderates the climate of Europe. • Some argue that the atmosphere plays a larger role here: Mid-latitude Cyclones

  4. Transport: Water • Transport Increases due to mass contributions from the Worthington Gyre and the Northern Recirculation Gyre • Volume: • Through Florida Straights: 30 Sv • Max. Trans. At 55W: 150 Sv • Downstream of Cape Hatteras, Transport Increases by ~8Sv/100km

  5. Topographical Image: oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/img_topo1/gulf-stream2.jpg

  6. Gulf Stream’s Sink • Near 38N 44W: Flow Diverges • Toward Mid-Atlantic Ridge: • Azores Current (cold)(southward) • Following north along the continental slope • North Atlantic Current (warm)(Eastward)

  7. Time Variant Structure • Large Values of Eddy Kinetic Energy at Labrador/Gulf Stream Interface • ~22 Warm Core and 35 Cold core rings are shed: features persist from weeks to a year! • Wanders much like a wriggling garden hose

  8. Scaling factors • Width: 80-150 km • Depth: 800-1200 m • Average Speed: 2 m/s

  9. Reference • HYCOM Consortium, Live Access Data Server, http://hycom.coaps.fsu.edu/thredds/dodsC/atl_ops.html • Joanna Gyory, Arthur J. Mariano, Edward H. Ryan. "The Gulf Stream." Ocean Surface Currents. http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/gulf-stream.html. • Lee, Hoyle, “A Gulf Stream Synthetic Geoid for the TOPEX Altimeter,” 1997.

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