A description of gulf stream meanders off Onslow Bay

Webster, Ferris

doi:10.1016/0146-6313(61)90005-3

Cited by 80 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…He also showed that given the proper conditions-the presence of upwelled water at the shelf break and favorable (i.e., south to southwest) winds-bottom intrusions occur when the density of the resident shelf water is less than that of the intruding water. The first condition, upwelling at the shelf break, is related to offshore meanders of the Gulf Stream axis (Webster, 1961;Atkinson, 1977). These motions, although favored and enhanced by the offshore Ekman transport expected with south to southwesterly winds, are not necessarily wind-dependent (Webster, 1961;Blanton, 1971) and apparently occur year-round at periods of one to two weeks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The effect of summertime shelf break upwelling on nutrient flux in southeastern United States continental shelf waters

Atkinson¹,

O'Malley²,

Yoder³

et al. 1984

J Mar Res

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Gulf Stream-induced upwelling at the shelf break of the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) presents water which, in summer, can intrude onto the continental shelf. In July 1979, an XBT survey of the continental shelf revealed such an intrusion of cold water off St. Augustine, Florida.From weekly mappings, it was determined that Gulf Stream water <22.5°C covered 3280 km 2 and occupied 38 km 3 shoreward of the 42 m isobath. Using temperature and nitrate distributions and the PC:N0 3 relationship, we determined that 3200 metric tons of nitrate-nitrogen were advected into the study area. Net nitrate-nitrogen fluxes were 32~moles . m-2 • sec-1 across the 42 m isobath and 30~moles . m-2 • sec-I across the 30 m isobath.The advection of nitrate-enriched water into the photic zone caused a dramatic increase in phytoplankton biomass. The decreasing nitrate concentrations correlated with chlorophyll increases indicating phytoplankton production was mainly at the expense of nitrate advected into the area. Prior to the intrusion, production was likely supported by regenerated nutrients.Summertime intrusions supply an estimated 2.9 x 10 4 mtons NOr N . yr-I to the middle shelf area of the southern SAB and are thus a major source of nitrogen to that area.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The effect of summertime shelf break upwelling on nutrient flux in southeastern United States continental shelf waters

Atkinson¹,

O'Malley²,

Yoder³

et al. 1984

J Mar Res

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“…WBC meanders typically have periods of a few days to a few weeks, and path shifts can move a long stretch of the current laterally to a new position, where it may remain for weeks to months. In the Gulf Stream, meanders (e.g., Webster 1961, Lee 1975; see Figure 7 in Section 4, below) and path shifts (e.g., , Bane & Dewar 1988, Quattrocchi et al 2012, Zeng & He 2016) have a long history of study. Such variations have been repeatedly observed in the Gulf Stream offshore of Cape Hatteras (Tracey & Watts 1986, Savidge 2004, and they have important impacts on the P levels in that region, as detailed in Section 4.…”

Section: Maximum Speedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Hydrokinetic Energy from Western Boundary Currents

Bane

Muglia

et al. 2017

Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci.

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The kinetic energy in ocean currents, or marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy, is a renewable energy resource that can help meet global energy requirements. An ocean circulation model-based census shows that subtropical surface western boundary currents (WBCs) are the only nearshore, large-scale currents swift enough to drive large electricity-generating ocean turbines envisioned for future use. We review several WBCs in the context of kinetic energy extraction. The power density in the Gulf Stream off North Carolina at times reaches several thousand watts per square meter at 75 m below the surface, and the annual average power is approximately 500-1,000 W m −2 . Significant fluctuations occur with periods of 3-20 days (Gulf Stream meanders) and weeks to months (Gulf Stream path shifts). Interannual variations in annual average power occur because of year-to-year changes in these WBC motions. No large-scale turbines presently exist, and the road to establishing MHK facilities in WBCs will encounter challenges that are similar in many aspects to those associated with the development of offshore wind power.

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“…However, the first quantitative measurements of the velocity and temperature structures in the surface layers of the Gulf Stream were made by Webster (1961), who characterized the meanders off Onslow Bay as skewed, wavelike oscillations with periods of 4-7 days. Webster's observations, which were made with a bathythermograph (for temperature) and a set of towed electrodes known as a Geomagnetic Electrokinetograph or GEK (for current), have since been considerably augmented by modern measurement devices such as moored current meters, Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) profilers, and radiation thermometers carried by satellites or aircrafts.…”

Section: Eddy Interactions With the Continental Marginmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Processes at the Shelf Edge in the Northwest Atlantic

Smith¹,

Sandstrom²

1988

J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci.

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Abrupt depth changes at the edges of continental shelves leading to important physical processes in the ocean are described with reviews on the progress in understanding three such processes: (1) interaction of offshore currents and eddies with the continental margin; (2) wind-driven upwelling at the shelf break; (3) generation of internal tides and nonlinear waves by the M2 surface tide. Two possible modes of interaction between offshore currents and coastal waters are contrasted. The first is characterized by eddy exchange created by a current guided along the shelf edge (as on the Labrador and Newfoundland shelves or in the United States South Atlantic Bight) while the second involves remote forcing by low-frequency topographic Rossby waves radiated from offshore meanders and rings to the shelf edge. In addition, wind-driven upwelling from depths of 400 m or more results from moderate (10-15 m S-1) but persistent alongshore wind. Complex bathymetry of the shelf may cause anomalously high currents in a fully three-dimensional circulation. Large-amplitude internal waves driven by the M2 surface tide are a ubiquitous feature of the shelf edge circulation. The intense vertical mixing associated with these waves promotes high levels of biological productivity at the shelf edge by continuously supplying nutrients to the surface layers.

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A description of gulf stream meanders off Onslow Bay

Cited by 80 publications

References 7 publications

The effect of summertime shelf break upwelling on nutrient flux in southeastern United States continental shelf waters

The effect of summertime shelf break upwelling on nutrient flux in southeastern United States continental shelf waters

Marine Hydrokinetic Energy from Western Boundary Currents

Physical Processes at the Shelf Edge in the Northwest Atlantic

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