Formation, Growth and Separation of the Northwest Corner (NWC) Eddy, Part 2

The Gulf Stream travels along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada, bringing warm water northwards.  South of Newfoundland, the Gulf Stream separates into two currents, one that moves around the Grand Banks and travels northwards to approximately 50N, where it heads eastward across the North Atlantic.  This current is known as the North Atlantic Current (NAC).  Where the NAC turns eastward, eddies are generated on a regular basis.  The mechanism for their formation and evolution is unknown.  Two cruises this year will conduct high-resolution hydrographic surveys of the eddy region, including acoustic Doppler current profiling, and Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) sampling, to gather data to provide a basis for validating a conceptual model of eddy formation and evolution.

These research cruises are being led by scientists from the University of Rhode Island. Although hosted on the RITAS website, these cruises are not part of the RITAS program; in fact none of the teachers is from Rhode Island.

The first part of the data collection was conducted aboard the RV Knorr from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). 

The second part of the data collection is being conducted aboard the RV Endeavor from the University of Rhode Island. The location of the Endeavor is posted at this link.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 1027573.  Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).