Retention time and transport potential of eddies in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Main Article Content

Fernando José Bello-Fuentes
Héctor García-Nava
Fernando Andrade-Canto
Reginaldo Durazo
Rubén Castro
Ismael Yarbuh

Abstract

Eddies are transient structures that strongly influence mean ocean circulation. They modify the distribution of mass and properties such as heat, salt, chlorophyll, and passive particles. The capacity of eddies to transport properties or particles depends on their retention capacity. In this study the mesoscale eddies of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NWGM) were identified and characterized through a Lagrangian method that allows estimating the retention time and the mass fraction that they can retain and transport. For the analysis, daily 1993–2016 altimetry data were used. A total of 254 eddies, 73 anticyclones, and 181 cyclones, were detected in the study period. Approximately 30% of total detected eddies were identified to occur in a region at 94.75º W and 26.75º N, between the 1,000- and 2,500-m isobaths. On average, eddy radius was ~40 km for isobath <1,000 m and ~70 km for isobath >2,500 m. Mesoscale eddies in the NWGM can transport ~60% of the mass they had when they were detected. On average, mass transport occurs over 33 d for cyclones and 26 d for anticyclones. It rarely occurs for 60 d or more.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Bello-Fuentes, F. J., García-Nava, H., Andrade-Canto, F., Durazo, R., Castro, R., & Yarbuh, I. (2021). Retention time and transport potential of eddies in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Ciencias Marinas, 47(2), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v47i2.3116
Section
Research Article

Metrics

References

Abernathey R, Haller G. 2018. Transport by Lagrangian vortices in the eastern Pacific. J Phys Oceanogr. 48(3):667–685.

https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-17-0102.1

Andrade-Canto F, Sheinbaum J, Zavala-Sansón L. 2013. A Lagrangian approach to the Loop Current eddy separation. Nonlinear Proc Geoph. 20(1):85–96.

https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-20-85-2013

Beron-Vera FJ, Olascoaga MJ, Goni GJ. 2008. Oceanic mesoscale eddies as revealed by Lagrangian coherent structures. Geophys Res Lett. 35(12):L12603.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033957

Beron-Vera FJ, Olascoaga MJ, Haller G, Farazmand M, Triñanes J, Wang Y. 2015. Dissipative inertial transport patterns near coherent Lagrangian eddies in the ocean. Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science. 25(8):087412.

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928693

Beron-Vera FJ, Wang Y, Olascoaga MJ, Goni GJ, Haller G. 2013. Objective detection of oceanic eddies and the Agulhas Leakage. J Phys Oceanogr. 43(7):1426–1438.

https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-0171.1

Biggs DC, Fargion GS, Hamilton P, Leben RR. 1996. Cleavage of a Gulf of Mexico loop Current eddy by a deep water cyclone. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 101(C9):20629–20641.

https://doi.org/10.1029/96JC01078

Cetina-Heredia P, Roughan M, van Sebille E, Keating S, Brassington GB. 2019. Retention and leakage of water by mesoscale eddies in the East Australian Current System. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 124(4):2485–2500.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014482

Chelton DB, Gaube P, Schlax MG, Early JJ, Samelson RM. 2011a. The influence of nonlinear mesoscale eddies on near-surface oceanic chlorophyll. Science. 334(6054):328–332.

https://10.1126/science.1208897

Chelton DB, Schlax MG, Samelson RM. 2011b. Global observations of nonlinear mesoscale eddies. Prog Oceanogr. 91(2):167–216.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2011.01.002

Condie S, Condie R. 2016. Retention of plankton within ocean eddies. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 25(10):1264–1277.

https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12485

Dong C, Liu Y, Lumpkin R, Lankhorst M, Chen D, McWilliams JC, Guan Y. 2011. A scheme to identify loops from trajectories of oceanic surface drifters: An application in the Kuroshio Extension region. J Atmos Ocean Tech. 28(9):1167–1176.

https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-10-05028.1

d’Ovidio F, De Monte S, Della-Penna A, Cotté C, Guinet C. 2013. Ecological implications of eddy retention in the open ocean: a Lagrangian approach. J Phys A: Math Theor. 46(25):254023.

https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/46/25/254023

Elliott BA. 1982. Anticyclonic rings in the Gulf of Mexico. J Phys Oceanogr. 12(11):1292–1309.

https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1982)0122.0.CO;2

Haller G, Hadjighasem A, Farazmand M, Huhn F. 2016. Defining coherent vortices objectively from the vorticity. J Fluid Mech. 795:136–173.

https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2016.151

Hamilton P. 1992. Lower continental slope cyclonic eddies in the central Gulf of Mexico. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 97(C2):2185–200.

https://doi.org/10.1029/91JC01496

Hamilton P. 2007. Eddy statistics from Lagrangian drifters and hydrography for the northern Gulf of Mexico slope. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 112(C9):C09002.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JC003988

Hamilton P, Berger TJ, Johnson W. 2002. On the structure and motions of cyclones in the northern Gulf of Mexico. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 107(C12):3208.

https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JC000270

Hamilton P, Lee TN. 2005. Eddies and jets over the slope of the northeast Gulf of Mexico. In: Sturgers W, Lugo-Fernandez A (eds.), Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. Vol. 161, Geophysical Monograph Series. Washington DC: American Geophysical Union. p. 123–142.

https://doi.org/10.1029/161GM010

Hamilton P, Fargion GS, Biggs DC. 1999. Loop Current eddy paths in the western Gulf of Mexico. J Phys Oceanogr. 29(6):1180–1207.

https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1999)0292.0.CO;2

Leben RR. 2005. Altimeter-derived Loop Current metrics, in Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. In: Sturges W, Lugo-Fernandez A (eds.), Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. Vol. 161, Geophysical Monograph Series. Washington DC: American Geophysical Union. p. 181–202.

https://doi.org/10.1029/161gm15

Le Vu B, Stegner A, Arsouze T. 2018. Angular momentum eddy detection and tracking algorithm (AMEDA) and its application to coastal eddy formation. J Atmos Ocean Tech. 35(4):739–762.

https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0010.1

Lipphardt BL, Poje AC, Kirwan AD, Kantha L, Zweng M. 2008. Death of three Loop Current rings. J Mar Res. 66(1):25–60.

https://doi.org/10.1357/002224008784815748

Lobel PS, Robinson AR. 1988. Larval fishes and zooplankton in a cyclonic eddy in Hawaiian waters. J Plankton Res. 10(6):1209–1223.

https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/10.6.1209

Merrell WJ Jr, Morrison JM. 1981. On the circulation of the western Gulf of Mexico with observations from April 1978. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 86(C5):4181–4185.

Merrell WJ Jr, Vázquez AM. 1983. Observations of changing mesoscale circulation patterns in the western Gulf of Mexico. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 88(C12):7721–7723.

https://doi.org/10.1029/JC088iC12p07721

Meunier T, Pallás-Sanz E, Tenreiro M, Portela E, Ochoa J, Ruiz-Angulo A, Cusí S. 2018. The vertical structure of a Loop Current eddy. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 123(9):6070–6090. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jc013801

Nowlin WD Jr, Jochens AE, Reid RO, DiMarco SF. 1998. Texas– Louisiana shelf circulation and transport processes study: synthesis report. Vol. 2, Appendices. New Orleans (LA): US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Services, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. 502 p. OCS Study, MMS 98-0036.

Oey LY, Ezer T, Lee HC. 2005. Loop Current, rings and related circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: A review of numerical models and future challenges. In: Sturges W, Lugo-Fernandez (eds.), Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. Vol. 161, Geophysical Monograph Series. Washington DC: American Geophysical Union. p. 31–56.

https://doi.org/10.1029/161GM04

Ohlmann JC, Niiler PP. 2005. Circulation over the continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Prog Oceanogr. 64(1):45–81.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2005.02.001

Ohlmann JC, Niiler PP, Fox CA, Leben RR. 2001. Eddy energy and shelf interactions in the Gulf of Mexico. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 106(C2):2605–2620.

https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JC000162

Okubo A. 1970. Horizontal dispersion of floatable particles in the vicinity of velocity singularities such as convergences. Deep Sea Res Oceanogr Abstr. 17(3):445–454.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(70)90059-8

Sánchez-Velasco L, Lavín MF, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Godínez VM, Santamaría-del-Angel E, Hernández-Becerril DU. 2013. Three-dimensional distribution of fish larvae in a cyclonic eddy in the Gulf of California during the summer. Deep Sea Res Part I. 75:39–51.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2013.01.009

Smith LC, Smith M, Ashcroft P. 2011. Analysis of environmental and economic damages from British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Albany Law Review. 74(1):563–585.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1653078

Tenreiro M, Candela J, Sanz EP, Sheinbaum J, Ochoa J. 2018. Near-surface and deep circulation coupling in the western Gulf of Mexico. J Phys Oceanogr. 48(1):145–161.

https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-17-0018.1

Vidal VMV, Vidal FV, Hernández AF, Meza E, Zambrano L. 1994. Winter water mass distributions in the western Gulf of Mexico affected by a colliding anticyclonic ring. J Oceanogr. 50(5):559–588.

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02235424

Vidal VMV, Vidal FV, Pérez-Molero JM. 1992. Collision of a Loop Current anticyclonic ring against the continental shelf slope of the western Gulf of Mexico. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 97(C2):2155–2172.

https://doi.org/10.1029/91JC00486

Wang Y, Beron-Vera FJ, Olascoaga MJ. 2016. The life cycle of a coherent Lagrangian Agulhas ring. J Geophys Res: Oceans. 121(6):3944–3954.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011620

Wang Y, Olascoaga MJ, Beron-Vera FJ. 2015. Coherent water transport across the South Atlantic. Geophys Res Lett. 42(10):4072–4079.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064089

Weiss J. 1991. The dynamics of enstrophy transfer in two-dimensional hydrodynamics. Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena. 48:273–294.

https:doi.org/10.1016/0167-2789(91)90088-Q

Zavala-Hidalgo J, Romero-Centeno R, Mateos-Jasso A, Morey SL, Martínez-López B. 2014. The response of the Gulf of Mexico to wind and heat flux forcing: What has been learned in recent years? Atmósfera. 27(3):317–334.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0187-6236(14)71119-1

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>