EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Belkin & Levitus 1996
Belkin, I.M. and Levitus, S. (1996). Temporal variability of the Subarctic Front near the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. Journal of Geophysical Research 101: doi: 10.1029/96JC02794. issn: 0148-0227.

We document temporal variability of the northernmost branch of the North Atlantic Current, known as the North Subarctic Front (NSAF), for the period 1976--1985. The front's location and temperature-salinity (T-S) parameters were determined from 120 repeat transects along three standard sections occupied by Russian ships: (1) ocean weather station (OWS) ''C'' (52.75 ¿N, 35.5 ¿W) to St. John's, Newfoundland; (2) along 35 ¿W, from 52 ¿N to 36.5 ¿N; and (3) OWS C to Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. The NSAF exhibits significant interannual variability of its location, shifting 200 km to 300 km in a few months. Along the OWS C-St. John's section, the front reached its southernmost location in 1976--1977, then experienced two 250-to-300-km northward shifts, in 1978--1979 and 1980--1981; all of the three shifts peaked in wintertime. These events nearly coincide with events of the opposite sign along the OWS C-Cape St. Vincent section (the northernmost location in 1976--1977 and two 200-km southward shifts, in 1978--1979 and 1980--1981). The NSAF's behavior is thus coherent near the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone at the 500-km scale. Frontal time series (associated with the moving front) of T and S at the 200-m level for the cold side of the NSAF reveal two events: an S200 minimum in the winter of 1976--1977, which might be a manifestation of the ''Great Salinity Anomaly'' of the 1970s, and a sharp drop of S200 in early 1984, which might signal the arrival of another large salinity anomaly, the ''Great Salinity Anomaly'' of the 1980s. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Oceanography, General, Descriptive and regional oceanography, Oceanography, Physical, Fronts and jets, Oceanography, Physical, Hydrography, Oceanography, General, Climate and interannual variability
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
http://www.agu.org/journals/jb/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit