Warm Core Ring (WCR) Events
Twice during the period shown here the Gulf Stream path was distorted from steep trough to an "S" shaped path and a WCR was shed from the downstream loop.
| Event Description | Event Animation |
The joint spin-up of the upper troughs and lower cyclones and the rotation of the trough axis can be tracked. As the upper jet path distorted into an "S" shape, strong westward currents (> 0.3 m s-1 ) occurred in the northern part of the array. These currents appear to be organized around an anticyclonic high pressure (HP) cell rather than being associated with the Deep Western Boundary Current. The deep anticyclone is shifted to the north and west of the upper layer crest or loop, leading its local propagation, as would be consistent with baroclinic instability.
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