The Oleander Project: Sustained Observations of Upper Ocean Currents

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9819724RossbyFor the past six years, the PIs have overseen the operation of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) on a container ship of opportunity, the CMV Oleander, on weekly round trip transits from New Jersey to Bermuda. The original objective was to track the low frequency variability of the Gulf Stream, particularly with respect to variations in mass and heat (temperature) transport. During this period, the Gulf Stream has been quite stable, while the recirculation gyres show noticeable variability. A strong correlation between Slope Water temperature and mean latitude of the Gulf Stream suggests that the latter is controlled by shelf water transports from the Labrador Sea, on annual and even longer time scales. In this project, the PIs will continue this series for another four years to determine if recently observed major changes in the North Atlantic wind stress (drop in the NAO index) are reflected in changes in the Gulf Stream transport. Other major changes in global forcing (El Nino, La Nina) also may have effects that would show up in the next several years.