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Altimeter-derived seasonal circulation on the southwest Atlantic shelf: 27°–43°S

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Title Altimeter-derived seasonal circulation on the southwest Atlantic shelf: 27°–43°S
Names Strub, P. Ted (creator)
James, Corinne (creator)
Combes, Vincent (creator)
Matano, Ricardo P. (creator)
et al. (creator)
Date Issued 2015-05 (iso8601)
Note This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. on behalf of American Geophysical Union. The published article can be found at: http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/agu/jgr/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292169-9291/
Abstract Altimeter sea surface height (SSH) fields are analyzed to define and discuss the seasonal circulation
over the wide continental shelf in the SW Atlantic Ocean (27°–43°S) during 2001–2012. Seasonal variability
is low south of the Rio de la Plata (RdlP), where winds and currents remain equatorward for most of
the year. Winds and currents in the central and northern parts of our domain are also equatorward during
autumn and winter but reverse to become poleward during spring and summer. Transports of shelf water
to the deep ocean are strongest during summer offshore and to the southeast of the RdlP. Details of the
flow are discussed using mean monthly seasonal cycles of winds, heights, and currents, along with analyses
of Empirical Orthogonal Functions. Principle Estimator Patterns bring out the patterns of wind forcing and
ocean response. The largest part of the seasonal variability in SSH signals is due to changes in the wind forcing
(described above) and changes in the strong boundary currents that flow along the eastern boundary
of the shelf. The rest of the variability contains a smaller component due to heating and expansion of the
water column, concentrated in the southern part of the region next to the coast. Our results compare well
to previous studies using in situ data and to results from realistic numerical models of the regional
circulation.
Genre Article
Topic altimeter
Identifier Strub, P. T., James, C., Combes, V., Matano, R. P., Piola, A. R., Palma, E. D., ... & Ruiz‐Etcheverry, L. A. (2015). Altimeter‐derived seasonal circulation on the southwest Atlantic shelf: 27°–43° S. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (5), 3391-3418. doi:10.1002/2015JC010769

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