Perturbations to the Gulf Stream by Atlantis II Seamount

Abstract

In a search for a natural occurrence of Taylor-column effects, salinity-temperature-depth (STD) observations were made in the Gulf Stream as it passed over Atlantis II Seamount. Although the stream path changed markedly during the course of the observations, one 5-day set of stations seems to provide a quasi-synoptic picture of the flow. Maps, based on this subset, of potential temperature at eight levels between 200 and 3500 m show deflections and distortions of isotherms near the seamount, and warm-core and cold-core eddies in its lee. The eddies are probably a consequence of the recent incursion of the Stream onto the seamount, while the other features seem qualitatively intelligible in terms of existing Taylor-column theory. From the data available, however, it is not possible to tell with certainty if there was a region of closed streamlines just above the seamount.