Path of the North Atlantic Deep Water in the Brazil Basin.

Zangenberg, Norbert and Siedler, Gerold (1998) Path of the North Atlantic Deep Water in the Brazil Basin. Open Access Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 103 (C3). pp. 5419-5428. DOI 10.1029/97JC03287.

[thumbnail of 97JC03287.pdf]
Preview
Text
97JC03287.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Supplementary data:

Abstract

Recent hydrographic sections and high-quality historical data sets are used to determine geostrophic currents at subtropical latitudes in the western basin of the South Atlantic. Levels of no motion are determined from water mass information and a mass balance constraint to obtain the transport field of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in this region. The incoming NADW transport of about 20 Sv from the north at 19 degrees S appears to be balanced by only one third of this transport leaving in the south and two thirds leaving to the east or northeast at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. A simple model is proposed to determine the cause of the NADW branching. It is shown that potential vorticity preservation in the presence of topographic changes leads to a similar flow pattern as observed, with branching near the Vitoria-Trindade-Ridge and also an eastward turning of the southward western boundary current at about 28 degrees S, the latitude where a balance of planetary vorticity change and stretching can be expected.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: WESTERN BOUNDARY CURRENT; ANTARCTIC BOTTOM WATER; SOUTH-ATLANTIC; GEOSTROPHIC CIRCULATION; SOUTHWESTERN ATLANTIC; EQUATOR; OCEAN; TRANSPORT; FLOW; MASSES
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-PO Physical Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union)
Projects: WOCE
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 03 Mar 2008 11:16
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2018 11:04
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/6855

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item