The spectrum of Loop Current variability from gappy data

Abstract

The goal of this work was to understand the rate at which large anticyclonic rings are shed from the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico. The northward penetration of the Loop Current is used here as a surrogate variable. Data are primarily from satellite IR maps and are supplemented with XBT sections and older hydrographic data. The IR data have gaps from poor summertime visibility, bad weather, and the ambiguity of not knowing exactly when a ring separates. -from Author