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Dynamics of Gulf Stream separation from the coast and its pathway to the east
Harley E. Hurlburt and Patrick J. Hogan
Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis
(Abstract received 05/12/2009 for session X)
ABSTRACT
For over 60 years the pathway of the Gulf Stream, as it separates from the coast of North America and flows to the east, has defied explanation despite many theories, models, and observational studies. Hurlburt and Hogan (2008, DAO) found that the ocean abyssal circulation driven by flow instabilities and constrained by topographic features is essential to obtain a realistic pathway. In particular, a key abyssal current guided by a low amplitude topographic feature and a Gulf Stream feedback mechanism determine the mean latitude of the Gulf Stream near 69ºW. Between the coast and 70ºW they found that the Gulf Stream closely follows a specific inertial jet pathway, namely a Constant Absolute Vorticity (CAV) trajectory. Together the CAV trajectory and the latitudinal constraint at 69ºW explain the Gulf Stream pathway in this region, while each alone is insufficient. The model simulations and the dynamical explanation are strongly supported by a wide range of observational evidence.
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2009 LOM Workshop, Miami, Florida Jume 1 - 3, 2009