Seasonal Variability of Retroflection Structures and Transports in the Atlantic Ocean as Inferred from Satellite-Derived Salinity Maps

Author(s)

Castellanos, Paola ^{[1, 2]} ; Olmedo, Estrella ^{[1, 3]} ; Lluis Pelegri, Josep ^{[1, 4]} ; Turiel, Antonio ^{[1, 3]} ; Campos, Edmo J. D. ^{[5, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] CSIC, Inst Ciencias Mar, Dept Oceanog Fis & Tecnol, E-08003 Barcelona - Spain

^[2] Univ Lisbon, Fac Ciencias, Marine & Environm Sci Ctr, P-1749016 Lisbon - Portugal

^[3] SMOS Barcelona Expert Ctr, Pg Maritim 37-49, Barcelona 08003 - Spain

^[4] Unidad Asociada ULPGC CSIC, CSIC, Dept Oceanog Fis & Tecnol, Inst Ciencias Mar, Barcelona 08003 - Spain

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, BR-01000000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Amer Univ Sharjah, POB 26666, Sharjah - U Arab Emirates

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REMOTE SENSING; v. 11, n. 7 APR 1 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Three of the world's most energetic regions are in the tropical and South Atlantic: the North Brazil Current Retroflection, the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence, and the Agulhas Current Retroflection. All three regions display offshore diversions of major boundary currents, which define the intensity of the returning limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. In this work, we use a sea-surface salinity (SSS) satellite product, combined with a high-resolution numerical model and in situ measurements, in order to explore the seasonal variation of the surface currents and transports in these three regions. The analysis of the model output shows that the SSS patterns reflect the surface velocity structure, with the largest horizontal SSS gradients coinciding with those areas of highest velocity and the most predominant velocity vector being 90 degrees anticlockwise (clockwise) from the horizontal SSS gradient in the northern (southern) hemisphere. This information is then applied to the SSS satellite product to obtain maps of water velocity and salt transports, leading to a quantitative tool to estimate both water and salt transports in key regions of the world ocean. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/01943-8 - Impacts of changes in the agulhas leakage on the South Atlantic (CALSA)
• Grantee: Edmo José Dias Campos
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/50552-4 - Impact of the Southern Atlantic on the global overturning circulation (MOC) and climate (SAMOC)
• Grantee: Edmo José Dias Campos
• Support type: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/09659-6 - Interannual variability of the meridional transports across the SAMOC basin-wide array (SAMBAR)
• Grantee: Edmo José Dias Campos
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 08/58101-9 - Impact of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean on South American climate for the 20th and 21st centuries
• Grantee: Tercio Ambrizzi
• Support type: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants