RT Journal Article
T1 The Western Alboran Gyre: An Analysis of Its Properties and Its Exchange with Surrounding Water
A1 Brett, Genevieve Jay
A1 Pratt, Larry
A1 Rypina, Irina
A1 Sánchez-Garrido, José Carlos
K1 Mediterráneo
AB One of the largest and most persistent features in the Alboran Sea is the Western Alboran Gyre (WAG), ananticyclonic recirculation bounded by the Atlantic Jet (AJ) to the north and the Moroccan coast to the south. Eulerianbudgets from several months of a high-resolution model run are used to examine the exchange of water across the EulerianWAG’s boundary and the processes affecting the salinity, temperature, and vorticity of the WAG. The volume transportacross the sides of theWAGis found to be related to vertical isopycnal movement at the base of the gyre. Advection is foundto drive a decay in the salinity minimum and anticyclonic vorticity of the Eulerian WAG. Given the large contributions ofadvection, a Lagrangian analysis is performed, revealing geometric aspects of the exchange that are hidden in an Eulerianview. In particular, stable and unstable manifolds identify a stirring region around the outer reaches of the gyre where wateris exchanged with the WAG on a time scale of weeks. Its complement is an inner core that expands with depth andexchanges water with its surroundings on much longer time scales. The 3D evolution of one parcel, or lobe, of water as itenters the WAG is also described, identifying a general Lagrangian subduction pathway.
PB American Meteorological Society
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29777
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29777
LA eng
NO Brett, G. J., L. J. Pratt, I. I. Rypina, and J. C. Sánchez-Garrido, 2020: The Western Alboran Gyre: An Analysis of Its Properties and Its Exchange with Surrounding Water. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 50, 3379–3402, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0028.1.
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026