A Study of the Extension of the North Atlantic Current and Pathways of Exchange: Phase II - Data Analysis

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9906775RossbyRaw data obtained from RAFOS floats, deployed as part of the Atlantic Circulation and Climate Experiment, will be processed, quality controlled, and then analyzed. The processed data will be used: (a) to map out the paths taken by the waters of the North Atlantic Current after it passes the Grand Banks, (b) to identify the locations of, and processes responsible for, exchange across the North Atlantic Current, (c) to map out the dissolved oxygen field on the density surface followed by the floats, and (d) to obtain statistics of particle displacements in the region. In addition, a short cruise will be made to recover the submerged sound sources used by the floats for navigation. The scientific tasks are designed to illuminate the way in which the waters of the subpolar and subtropical North Atlantic are exchanged and will contribute to developing an understanding of the meridional transport of heat in that ocean. 9908091Padman/EgbertIn this work, sub-surface current meter data will be assimilated into two and three-dimensional numerical models of tidal flows in the Weddell Sea. Inverse methods will be used to guide improvements of parameterizations of the effects of diurnal vorticity waves and of friction in the bottom boundary layer. Since the Weddell Sea is close to the critical latitudes for the main semi-diurnal tide and has weak stratification, the bottom boundary layer is thick and the tidal flow is relatively barotropic, simplifying the modeling task and allowing a better characterization of the flow by the current meters.