Sea surface slope as a proxy for Agulhas Current strength.

van Sebille, Erik, Beal, Lisa M. and Biastoch, Arne (2010) Sea surface slope as a proxy for Agulhas Current strength. Open Access Geophysical Research Letters, 37 (9). L09610. DOI 10.1029/2010GL042847.

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Abstract

The linear relation between the strength of the Agulhas Current at nominal latitude 34°S and the gradient in sea level height anomaly across the current is investigated in a 1/10° resolution regional numerical ocean model. Our results show that the strength of the current can be estimated with reasonable accuracy using altimeter data, once it has been calibrated using in-situ transport measurements. Three years of transport measurements provide a calibration with worst-case correlation R = 0.78. In that case the errors in proxy transport have a standard deviation of 9.8 Sv, compared to a 20.2 Sv standard deviation of the transport time series itself. From these results we conclude that the design of the Agulhas Current Timeseries (ACT) experiment, a three-year deployment of moorings across the Agulhas Current and along a TOPEX/Jason altimeter ground track, will likely produce a good quality multi-decadal time series of Agulhas Current strength.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Agulhas Current; oceanography; ocean circulation
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-TM Theory and Modeling
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union)
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 22 Nov 2010 10:57
Last Modified: 20 Jun 2017 13:03
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/10053

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