HR: 10:50h
AN: OS32B-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Cold Event in the South Atlantic Bight During Summer of 2003: Anomalous Hydrographic and Atmospheric Conditions
AU: * Aretxabaleta, A L
EM: alfredo@unc.edu
AF: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Sciences 12-7 Venable Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 United States
AU: Nelson, J R
EM: nelson@skio.peachnet.edu
AF: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411 United States
AU: Blanton, J O
EM: jack@skio.peachnet.edu
AF: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411 United States
AU: Seim, H E
EM: hseim@email.unc.edu
AF: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Sciences 12-7 Venable Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 United States
AU: Werner, F E
EM: cisco@unc.edu
AF: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Sciences 12-7 Venable Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 United States
AU: Weisberg, R H
EM: weisberg@seas.marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science 140 7th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 United States
AU: Blanton, B O
EM: bblanton@email.unc.edu
AF: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Sciences 12-7 Venable Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 United States
AB: Unusually cold seawater temperatures were observed along much of the U.S. eastern seaboard during the summer of 2003. Large scale wind patterns were upwelling favorable during this period. In the South Atlantic Bight, the presence of salinity stratification in late spring, due to larger than average river discharge, could have preconditioned the shelf waters to favor shoreward penetration of upwelled cold water. The resulting thermal stratification had significant effects on the dynamical and biological processes in the shelf. The characteristics of the upwelled water corresponded with water coming from the deeper part of the Gulf Stream. A set of modeling studies is developed using hydrographic characteristics observed during the summer of 2003 as well as realistic atmospheric forcing. The goal of the modeling studies is to quantify cross-shelf and along-shelf transport associated with the cold water event, and to assess the relative importance of different forcings: upwelling favorable winds, stratification, river discharge and position and intensity of the Gulf Stream. The latitudinal location of the source of cold water into the shelf through shelf-break frontal eddies interaction is discussed.
UR: http://www.unc.edu/%7Ehseim/sablam/summer03/index.html
DE: 4219 Continental shelf processes
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling
DE: 4279 Upwelling and convergences
DE: 4576 Western boundary currents
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting