Collaborative Research: Why does the Loop Current have such an irregular ring-shedding cycle?

墨西哥湾环流最令人困惑的方面是它脱落环的方式。环脱落对生物海洋学和渔业应用有很大的意义，并对商业航运和钻井有实际影响。追溯到20世纪70年代的数据表明了环脱落的速度，但导致环分离的机制尚不清楚。海流数值模式能准确反映环流的大部分流动细节，但不能准确反映环脱落的时间，而且在没有同化海面高度资料的情况下，模式根本不能捕捉到环脱落。在这项研究中，历史数据环分离将进行分析，以测试最近的理论假设环脱落机制。

The most puzzling aspect of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico is the manner in which it sheds rings. Ring-shedding is of great interest to biological oceanography and fisheries applications and has a practical effect on commercial shipping and drilling. Data going back to the 1970's indicates the rate at which rings are shed but the mechanism that causes rings to separate is not known. Current numerical models can get most of the flow details of the Loop Current correct but not the timing of ring shedding and without assimilating sea surface height data, the models fail to capture ring shedding at all. In this study, historical data on ring separations will be analyzed to test recent theoretical hypotheses about ring shedding mechanisms.