The climatology of the North Atlantic

摘要: Abstract Data from approximately 144,000 hydrographic stations in the North Atlantic have been retrieved national Oceanic Centre and analysed to produce maps of mean pressure, temperature, salinity oxygen on selected potential density surfaces for domain bounded by 0°–85°W 0°–65°N. The data span period 1904 1990 with majority last four decades. set this region is 60% larger than that used production Levitus' Climatological World Atlas. This increase stations, coupled smoothing scales specific rather global ocean, considerably improves resolution basin's features. property fields their associated standard deviations are resolved a one-degree grid little smoothing, contrasting Levitus Atlas where properties, although presented grid, smoothed order 1000km. Another important feature database process which irregularly spaced averaged onto regular grid. In significant departure analysis, depth surfaces, these were thus eliminating an artificial mixing water mass properties. describe baroclinicity well-known features such as Gulf Stream, Current Deep Western Boundary Current, elucidate recirculations currents. It additionally resolves several new intermediate deep Atlantic. These include signature large scale recirculation extends southwestward eastward extension separation point Stream near Cape Hatteras. recirculation, spans 2000m column, encompasses more local potentially mixes subpolar subtropical waters. Furthermore, upper thermocline, reveals coherent Azores stretches system south Tail Grand Banks Madeira. flow marked divergences convergences north its downstream transport not much changed.