Response of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current to Variability in Remote Forcing

从加勒比海到墨西哥湾的水流是大西洋向北热量输送的最大来源之一。 而在墨西哥湾，一些水通过佛罗里达海峡向东转移，形成墨西哥湾流的开端，而一些可能会转移到环流涡。因此，环流对海湾环流和佛罗里达海流输送有很大的影响。因此，环流的变化对墨西哥湾的气象和海洋条件有着广泛的影响。这项研究的目的是提供尤卡坦半岛和佛罗里达海峡之间的环流的预测。利用实地数据分析、理论和分析模型以及MICOM和HYCOM数值环流模型的结果，他们计划解决几个关键问题，包括安的列斯群岛通道的涡流通量及其变化、加勒比海流的动力结构和稳定性、不同的强迫如何影响加勒比海盆和环流的变化。

The movement of water from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest sources of northward heat transport in the Atlantic Ocean. While in the Gulf of Mexico, some water is diverted eastward through the Florida Straits and forms the beginning of the Gulf Stream while some may be diverted into the Loop Current Eddy. Therefore, the Loop Current has a strong influence on the Gulf circulation and on Florida Current transports. Therefore, the variability of the Loop Current has a broad impact on the meteorological and oceanographic conditions within the Gulf of Mexico. The aim of this study is to provide predictability of the Loop Current between the Yucatan and the Florida Straits. Using field data analysis, theoretical and analytical models as well as results from the numerical circulation models MICOM and HYCOM, they plan to address several key issues including the eddy fluxes and their variability across the Antilles passages, the dynamical structure and the stability properties of the Caribbean Current, how different forcings affect the variability of the Caribbean Basin and the Loop Current.