Anticyclonic Rings in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Using historical data, this study describes the anticyclonic rings that separated from the Loop Current in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Six quasi-synoptic data sets are used to describe the evolving circulation of the Gulf of Mexico from Oct 1966-Sep 1967, showing the separation and movement into the western GOM of three anticylonic rings. These rings appear to be warm salty bodies. The heat and salt added by one ring plays an important rold in the heat and salt budget of the western gulf. One ringer per year must advect into the west to balance the Gulf's salt budget.