A Study of Mediterranean Water Eddies (Meddies)

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In this project, 15 RAFOS (SOFARS spelled backwards) floats will be deployed in about 5 different Mediterranean Water eddies (Meddies) as they are discovered during the French Semaphore Experiment in the vicinity of the Azores Front. The trajectories and life histories of these 5 Meddies will be observed to learn more about their typical translation characteristics, life expectancy, and mode of propagation. The Semaphore Experiment has a major observational component in 1993 during which extensive Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) and Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) surveys will be made in the region 31.5- 36.ON, 20.5-26.OW, where a large number of historical Meddy observations were made. these CTD and XBT casts will be used to identify the salinity and temperature anomalies of the Meddies and will be instrumental in the design of the deployment strategy for the floats. The long-range objectives of this study are to understand how Mediterranean Water disperses into the North Atlantic and, specifically, to understand the role of Meddies in the maintenance of the Mediterranean salt tongue.//