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Sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) data for 1993-2007 for the North Atlantic are combined with hydrographic data at 69 W to investigate the relation between the Gulf Stream (GS) position and the Slope Water properties. SST anomalies north of the GS are correlated with changes in its path. The lag of this correlation is such that positive temperature anomalies precede northward shifts of the GS, and suggests that SST anomalies move westward with speeds of several cm/s. EOF analysis of the SST and SSH fields shows that cooling and strengthening of the SW flow are in phase over the Slope Water, which is mirrored in the vertical structure of these fields at 69 W, indicating larger transports in the deep western boundary current lead to southward shifts of the mean GS path. This relation between the slope water and the GS path provides some predictability for the latter.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Oceanography
Research Field:	Physical oceanography
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Marine systems and management
Objective Field:	Oceanic processes (excl. in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean)
UTAS Author:	Pena-Molino, B (Dr Beatriz Pena-Molino)
ID Code:	71459
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	53
Deposited By:	Research Division
Deposited On:	2011-07-19
Last Modified:	2014-12-08
Downloads:	0