On the interaction between the Gulf Stream and the New England Seamount Chain

Abstract

In the course of numerical simulations with a primitive equation regional model of the Gulf Stream, bottom topography and the New England Seamount Chain (NESC) in particular show significant influence on the variability and the energetics of the Gulf Stream system. The model is an eddy-resolving, coastal ocean model that includes thermohaline dynamics and a second-order turbulence closure scheme to provide vertical mixing coefficients; it is driven at the surface by observed monthly wind stress and heat fluxes. Model results suggest that the stabilizing effects of the bottom topography dominate over possible destabilizing effects due to increase in meander amplitudes near the NESC. -from Author