Life Cycle of a Gulf Stream Anticyclonic Eddy Observed from Several Oceanographic Platforms

Abstract

Combined use of satellite infrared imagery, and shipboard and aircraft bathythermograms provided near-synoptic observations of the movement and subsequent recapture of a Gulf Stream anticyclonic eddy by a large meander northeast of Cape Hatteras. The eddy drifted westward for over four mouths along the continental slope at speeds of 4–5 cm sec⁻¹ before rejoining the Gulf Stream, coalescing with a large meander northeast of Cape Hatteras. The meander was subsequently observed for an additional month after recapture translating eastward at 15 cm sec⁻¹. Meander movement resembles that of a similar feature observed in 1970 which resulted in formation of a cyclonic Gulf Stream eddy.