Deep circulation in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

In the Atlantic Ocean, the northward export of warm surface water is compensated by a southward flow of cold North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The NADW is transported southward along the American continental margin within the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Some tracer and float obsrevations have shown that part of the DWBC water flows eastward along the equator. Here we present three meridional velocity sections which give an instantaneous image of the top-to-bottom zonal circulation along the equatorial Atlantic. They reveal the presence of Equatorial Deep Jets (EDJs) between 1°30'N and 1°30'S, alternating eastward-westward currents with short vertical scale, surrounded by columns of eastward currents (the Extra Equatorial Jets or EEJs) at 2°N and 2°S. In addition to direct velocity measurements, tracer distributions give indications of water-mass feeding of the EDJs and EEJs by the DWBC.