Josep Lluís Pelegrí

Temporal variability of mass transport in the Canary Current

Abstract The variability of the Canary Current is investigated using bimonthly expandable bathythermograph sections from Gran Canaria Island to the African coast between November 1996 and September 1998. The geostrophic transport of the easternmost branch of the Canary Current is estimated by integrating the thermal wind equation using the layer of neutral density 27.3 (roughly 600 m depth) as the layer of no motion. The yearly average geostrophic transport of this branch of the Canary Current is 1.8±1.4×10 9 kg s −1 southward. Approximately half of the transport flows through the channel between the islands of Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, and the other half through the channel between Fuerteventura and the African coast. The total southward geostrophic transport shows significant seasonal variability, ranging from 1.2±0.3×10 9 kg s −1 in May to 2.6±0.1×10 9 kg s −1 in January, although November is the only month with considerable differences in geostrophic transport between 1996 and 1997. There is seasonal northward transport in both channels, during May in the Gran Canaria–Fuerteventura channel and during November in the Fuerteventura–African coast channel. This seasonal pattern is probably linked to autumn weakening of upwelling in the Canary Islands area and the offshore diversion of this flow at Cape Ghir.

Northward Penetration of Antarctic Intermediate Water off Northwest Africa

Abstract In this article, historical and climatological datasets are used to investigate the seasonal northward propagation of Antarctic Intermediate Waters (AAIW) along the eastern margin of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. A cluster analysis for data north of 26°N shows the presence of a substantial number of hydrographic stations with AAIW characteristics that stretch northeast along the African slope. This water mass extends north during fall, as shown both through the comparison of actual and climatological data, and by applying a mixing analysis to normal-to-shore seasonal sections at both 28.5° and 32°N. The mixing analysis is further used with several fall cruises between 32° and 36°N, and shows that at these latitudes the core of AAIW propagates along the 27.5 isoneutral with contributions that reach as much as 50% at 32.5°N. An idealized Sverdrup-type model is used in combination with climatological hydrographic and wind data to examine what forces this eastern boundary propagation. It is fo...

Diapycnal mixing in Gulf Stream meanders

We use historical data [Bane et al., 1981], interpolated to isopycnic coordinates, to examine the possibility of significant diapycnal mixing within the upper thermocline layers of the Gulf Stream. The data consist of 28 air-dropped expendable bathythermograph (AXBT) sections in the northern Blake Plateau distributed in five different surveys done within 8 days. From the data we obtain a separation index between isopycnals j = ρ ∂z/∂ρ, where z is the depth of an isopycnal and ρ is the density; the diapycnal shear ∂υ/∂ρ, where υ is the geostrophic velocity; and the gradient Richardson number Ri. Following Pelegri and Csanady [1994], we postulate that the material derivative of the density, or density tendency wρ = Dρ/Dt, is the result of small-scale instabilities related to near-critical Ri values. We present the distribution of these quantities (j, ∂υ/∂ρ, Ri, and wρ) and the diapycnal convergence/divergence (∂wρ/∂ρ) over isopycnals and on sections normal to the coast. The results show the passage of steep meanders being related to anomalously low j values (strong density gradients) within the upper thermocline layers and the cyclonic filaments of the stream. The statically stable upper thermocline layers, however, are concurrent with large diapycnal shear and turn out to be dynamically unstable, characterized by low Ri and high-density tendencies and diapycnal convergence/divergence. The errors involved in calculating the dependent variables from AXBT data are assessed using both an error propagation approach and a Monte Carlo error simulation. These errors, although significant, are not large enough to modify the observed patterns substantially.

Water mass pathways to the North Atlantic oxygen minimum zone

The water mass pathways to the North Atlantic Oxygen Minimum Zone (naOMZ) are traditionally sketched within the cyclonic tropical circulation via the poleward branching from the eastward flowing jets that lie south of 10°N. However, our water mass analysis of historic hydrographic observations together with numerical Lagrangian experiments consistently reveal that the potential density level of σθ = 26.8 kg m−3 (σ26.8, approximately 300 m depth) separates two distinct regimes of circulation within the Central Water (CW) stratum of the naOMZ. In the upper CW (above σ26.8), and in agreement with previous studies, the supply of water mainly comes from the south with a predominant contribution of South Atlantic CW. In the lower CW (below σ26.8), where minimal oxygen content is found, the tropical pathway is instead drastically weakened in favor of a subtropical pathway. More than two thirds of the total water supply to this lower layer takes place north of 10°N, mainly via an eastward flow at 14°N and northern recirculations from the northern subtropical gyre. The existence of these northern jets explains the greater contribution of North Atlantic CW observed in the lower CW, making up to 50% of the water mass at the naOMZ core. The equatorward transfer of mass from the well-ventilated northern subtropical gyre emerges as an essential part of the ventilation of the naOMZ.

Geostrophic and ageostrophic circulation of a shallow anticyclonic eddy off Cape Bojador

A shallow mesoscale anticyclonic eddy, observed south of the Canary Islands with satellite altimetry, has been intensively studied with multiparametric sampling. Hydrographic data from a CTD installed on an undulating Nu-shuttle platform reveal the presence of a mesoscale anticyclonic eddy of ∼125 km diameter. The difference in sea level anomaly (SLA) between the interior and the edge of the eddy, as determined from altimetry, is ∼15 cm, which compares well with the maximum dynamic height differences as inferred using a very shallow reference level (130 m). Further, the associated surface geostrophic velocities, of about 35 cm s−1 in the northeast and southwest edges of the eddy, are in good agreement with direct velocity measurements from the ship. Deep rosette-CTD casts confirm that the structure is a shallow eddy extending no deeper than 250 m before the fusion with another anticyclone. The SLA-tendency (temporal rate of change of sea surface height) indicates a clear northwestward migration during the two first weeks of November 2008. Applying an eddy SSH-based tracker, the eddys velocity propagation is estimated as 4 km d−1. Use of the QG-Omega equation diagnoses maximum downward/upward velocities of about ±2 m d−1. The instability of the Canary coastal jet appears to be the mechanism responsible for the generation of the shallow anticyclonic eddy.

Slope Control in Western Boundary Currents

Abstract An analytic solution is presented for the steady-state depth-averaged western boundary current flowing over the continental slope by combining three highly idealized models: the Stommel model, the Munk model, and the arrested topographic wave model. The main vorticity balance over the slope is between planetary vorticity advection and the slope-induced bottom stress torque, which is proportional to rυ(h−1)x where r is the Rayleigh friction coefficient, h is the water depth, and υ is the meridional velocity. This slope-induced torque provides the necessary source of vorticity for poleward flow over the slope, its simple interpretation being that vorticity is produced because the bottom stress has to act over the seaward-deepening water column. The character of the solution depends on the slope α as well as on the assumed bottom drag coefficient, and the length scale of the boundary current is ∼2r/(βα). It is further shown that, if the depth-averaged velocity flows along isobaths, then the stretchi...

Subregional characterization of mesoscale eddies across the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence

Horizontal and vertical motions associated with coherent mesoscale structures, including eddies and meanders, are responsible for significant global transports of many properties, including heat and mass. Mesoscale vertical fluxes also influence upper ocean biological productivity by mediating the supply of nutrients into the euphotic layer, with potential impacts on the global carbon cycle. The Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) is a western boundary current region in the South Atlantic with intense mesoscale activity. This region has an active role in the genesis and transformation of water masses and thus is a critical component of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The collision between the Malvinas and Brazil Currents over the Patagonian shelf/slope creates an energetic front that translates offshore to form a vigorous eddy field. Recent improvements in gridded altimetric sea level anomaly fields allow us to track BMC mesoscale eddies with high spatial and temporal resolutions using an automated eddy tracker. We characterize the eddies across fourteen 5°×5° subregions. Eddy-centric composites of tracers and geostrophic currents diagnosed from a global reanalysis of surface and in situ data reveal substantial subregional heterogeneity. The in situ data are also used to compute the evolving quasi-geostrophic vertical velocity (QG-ω) associated with each instantaneous eddy instance. The QG- ω eddy composites have the expected dipole patterns of alternating upwelling/downwelling, however the magnitude and sign of azimuthally-averaged vertical velocity varies among subregions. Maximum eddy values are found near fronts and sharp topographic gradients. In comparison with regional eddy composites, subregional composites provide refined information about mesoscale eddy heterogeneity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

On the temporal memory of coastal upwelling off NW Africa

We use a combination of satellite, in situ, and numerical data to provide a comprehensive view of the seasonal coastal upwelling cycle off NW Africa in terms of both wind forcing and sea surface temperature (SST) response. Wind forcing is expressed in terms of both instantaneous (local) and time-integrated (nonlocal) indices, and the ocean response is expressed as the SST difference between coastal and offshore waters. The classical local index, the cross-shore Ekman transport, reproduces reasonably well the time-latitude distribution of SST differences but with significant time lags at latitudes higher than Cape Blanc. Two nonlocal indices are examined. One of them, a cumulative index calculated as the backward averaged Ekman transport that provides the highest correlation with SST differences, reproduces well the timing of the SST differences at all latitudes (except near Cape Blanc). The corresponding time lags are close to zero south of Cape Blanc and range between 2 and 4 months at latitudes between Cape Blanc and the southern Gulf of Cadiz. The results are interpreted based on calculations of spatial and temporal auto and cross correlations for wind forcing and SST differences. At temporal scales of 2–3 weeks, the alongshore advection of alongshore momentum compensates for interfacial friction, allowing the upwelling jet and associated frontal system to remain active. We conclude that the coastal jet plays a key role in maintaining the structure of coastal upwelling, even at times of relaxed winds, by introducing a seasonal memory to the system in accordance with the atmospheric-forcing annual cycle.

Transports and budgets of anthropogenic CO2 in the tropical North Atlantic in 1992–1993 and 2010–2011

The meridional transport of anthropogenic CO2 (Cant) in the tropical North Atlantic (TNA) is investigated using data from transoceanic sections along 7.5°N and 24.5°N, carried out in the early 1990s and 2010s. The net Cant transport across both sections is northward. At 7.5°N, this transport increased from 315 ± 47 kmol s−1 in 1993 to 493 ± 51 kmol s−1 in 2010; similarly, across 24.5°N it grew from 530 ± 46 kmol s−1 in 1992 to 662 ± 49 kmol s−1 in 2011. These changes result from modifications in the intermediate and deep circulation patterns, as well as from Cant increase within the thermocline waters. In deep waters, lateral advection causes a net Cant input of 112 ± 60 kmol s−1 (234 ± 65 kmol s−1) in 1992–1993 (2010–2011); within these deep waters, the storage rate of Cant is not statistically different from the net Cant input, 139 ± 21 kmol s−1 (188 ± 21 kmol s−1) in 1992–1993 (2010–2011). The Cant increase in deep waters is due to the large injection of Cant across the 24.5°N by the Deep Western Boundary Current and the northward recirculation of North Atlantic Deep Water along 7.5°N. In contrast, a large net Cant output in the upper layer is caused by the Florida Current. Despite this net Cant output, the Cant accumulates at a rate of 215 ± 24 kmol s−1 (291 ± 24 kmol s−1) referenced to year 1993 (2010). From the two Cant budgets, we infer a Cant air-sea flux of 0.23 ± 0.02 Pg yr−1in the TNA, much larger than previous estimates.

Impact of anthropogenic CO 2 on the next glacial cycle

The model of Paillard and Parrenin (Earth Planet Sci Lett 227(3–4):263–271, 2004) has been recently optimized for the last eight glacial cycles, leading to two different relaxation models with model-data correlations between 0.8 and 0.9 (García-Olivares and Herrero (Clim Dyn 1–25, 2012b)). These two models are here used to predict the effect of an anthropogenic CO2 pulse on the evolution of atmospheric CO2, global ice volume and Antarctic ice cover during the next 300 kyr. The initial atmospheric CO2 condition is obtained after a critical data analysis that sets 1300 Gt as the most realistic carbon Ultimate Recoverable Resources (URR), with the help of a global compartmental model to determine the carbon transfer function to the atmosphere. The next 20 kyr will have an abnormally high greenhouse effect which, according to the CO2 values, will lengthen the present interglacial by some 25 to 33 kyr. This is because the perturbation of the current interglacial will lead to a delay in the future advance of the ice sheet on the Antarctic shelf, causing that the relative maximum of boreal insolation found 65 kyr after present (AP) will not affect the developing glaciation. Instead, it will be the following insolation peak, about 110 kyr AP, which will find an appropriate climatic state to trigger the next deglaciation.