Slopewater Currents in the Middle-Atlantic Bight and Associated Coupling to the Shelfbreak Circulation: Analysis of the Shelfbreak Primer Data Set.

摘要

The long-range goal of the Shelfbreak PRIMER is to gain a better understanding of the variability, forcing and associated dynamics of the shelfbreak current, which in turn will clarify the factors governing the propagation of sound across the shelfbreak front. One of the premises of the experiment is that the shelfbreak jet does not evolve in isolation, but is strongly influenced by the adjacent slopewater circulation. The main objectives of the slopewater component of the PRIMER experiment are (1) to determine the mean and fluctuating currents/water-masses on the continental slope in the Middle-Atlantic Bight, and (2) to elucidate the nature of the mesoscale variability in particular to understand the coupling between the slopewater currents and shelfbreak circulation.