A Numerical Model of Eddy Generation in the Southeastern Caribbean Sea

Heburn, George W.; Kinder, Thomas H.; Allender, J.H.; Hurlburt, Harley E.

doi:10.1016/s0422-9894(08)71248-0

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Additional features of the design of experiment D follow. Observations and models [ Johns et al , 1990; Richardson et al , 1994; Fratantoni et al , 1995; Glickson et al , 2001; Fratantoni and Glickson , 2002; Heburn et al , 1982; Murphy et al , 1999] suggest that rings shed from the North Brazil Current retroflection “collide” with the eastern side of the Lesser Antilles. Remnants of rings then “leak” into eastern Caribbean Sea (T. Ezer (personal communication, 2002) also reported such collision in his Atlantic Ocean model [ Ezer and Mellor , 1997] at ∼1/2° resolution.…”

Section: Process Study Numerical Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of winds and Caribbean eddies on the frequency of Loop Current eddy shedding: A numerical model study

2003

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[1] The Loop Current (LC) is known to shed eddies at irregular intervals from 3 to 17 months. The causes of this irregularity have not, however, been adequately identified previously. We examine the effects of various types of external forcing on shedding with a model of the western North Atlantic Ocean (96°-55°W, 6°-50°N). We force the model with steady transport at 55°W, with winds, and include eddies in the Caribbean Sea. We examine their separate effects. With steady transport only, the model sheds rings at a dominant period of 9-10 months. Wind-induced transport fluctuations through the Greater Antilles Passages cause shedding at shorter intervals (%3-7 months). Caribbean eddies (anticyclones) cause shedding at longer periods (%14-16 months). Potential vorticity conservation indicates that Caribbean eddies tend to deter northward extension of the LC into the Gulf, which can lead to longer periods between eddy shedding. Fluctuating inflow at the Yucatan Channel that is associated with winds and/or Caribbean eddies can cause an LC eddy to temporarily ($1 month) detach from and then reattach back to the LC, a phenomenon often observed. Model results also suggest that southwest of Hispaniola, warm eddies are spun up by the local wind stress curl. This type of eddy drifts southwestward, then westward after merging with the Caribbean Current, and then northward as it progresses toward the Yucatan Channel; these eddies significantly affect the shedding behavior of warm-core rings. The timescale for spin up and drift from Hispaniola is about 100 days. Satellite data indicate the existence of these eddies in the real ocean.

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Section: Process Study Numerical Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of winds and Caribbean eddies on the frequency of Loop Current eddy shedding: A numerical model study

2003

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“…In a reexamination of the data, Leming [1971] proposed that the eddies were part of an island wake resulting from flow past the Lesser Antilles. A comprehensive documentation of the eddy field came from deployments of 23 drifters during the fall and winter seasons of 1975-1977 [Motinari et at., 1981; Heburn et at., 1982;Kinder, 1983]. The drifter tracks showed evidence of eddy activity throughout the southern Caribbean; but the distribution of observations led the authors to assume that the eddy activity occurred mainly in the eastern basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caribbean Sea eddies inferred from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry and a 1/6° Atlantic Ocean model simulation

Carton¹,

Chao²

1999

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Moreover, in the northeastern Caribbean, fluctuations have been noted to be stronger than the mean currents [Molinari et al, 1981] Simulations using the U.S. Navy Layered Ocean Model [Wallcraft, 1991] (a 1/4 ø resolution model with a 5.5-layer reduced gravity and a six-layer model with realistic bottom topography, having an explicit numerical scheme for the reduced gravity, formulated using an Arakawa "C" grid) by Murphy et al [1999] indicated eddy motion penetrated the Lesser Antilles and propagated across the Caribbean in -2 months. Similar eddies can form by horizontal shear instability in two-layer and reduced gravity models [Heburn et al, 1982] and can also be produced when eddies from the North Atlantic Ocean impinge on the Lesser Antilles as in the model of Capella [ 1994].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%