Science Meetings
Seasonal Circulation on the Southwest Atlantic Shelf
Strub, P.T., Matano, R.P., James, C., Combes, V., Piola, A., Palma, E., Saraceno, M., Guerrero, R., Fenco, H., and Ruiz Etcheverry, L. (19-Nov-15)The seasonal circulation is described 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-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 described by monthly seasonal cycles of winds, surface heights and geostrophic currents from altimeters and ocean circulation models. 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. Our results compare well to the results from analysis of Aquarius SSS fields and previous studies using in situ data and realistic numerical models of the regional circulation.