Sensitivity of Loop Current metrics and eddy detachments to different model configurations: The impact of topography and Caribbean perturbations

摘要

The dynamics of the Loop Current (LC) and the release of its anticyclonic eddy (Loop Current eddy, LCE) are some of the most important features of the circulation in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and key aspects to gauge the validity of numerical simulations. Using a numerical model, we investigate the sensitivity of the LC and LCE detachments to three different mechanisms deemed to be relevant to their behavior: a) suppression of Caribbean vorticity perturbations entering the GoM; b) smoothness of the topography, and c) suppression of a deep canyon on the eastern Campeche Bank.