Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.3389/fmars.2025.1645286

Publication Title

Frontiers in Marine Science

Volume

12

Pages

1645286

Abstract

Surface currents of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) were studied using high frequency radar (HFR) observations at 6 km resolution during a five-year period (2020-2024). The study's focus on the role of the Gulf Stream (GS) contrasts with most past studies that focused on the seasonal wind-driven currents. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analyses of the daily HFR currents were conducted with and without the GS, revealing modes of current variability linked to the seasonal wind pattern and storms versus modes linked to GS variability. The remote impact of the GS on coastal currents is complex, with different impacts seen on different parts of the MAB. For example, unusual GS meanders that move close to the coast impact flow variability near the shelf-break front, while other locations may be influenced by the strength of the GS and shift in the mean position of the GS. In general, it was found that monthly wind may be responsible for about 50-80% of the surface current variability over the entire MAB, while the GS position and speed is correlated with the offshore component of the coastal currents and linked to about 10-30% of the current variability. There are also large interannual variations, so that during some years the GS impact on the coast is larger than during other years. Comparison between geostrophic velocity derived from altimeter data and the HFR surface currents shows the influence of the GS path on the offshore currents, however, close to the coast the currents are wind-and river-driven, so that geostrophic currents obtained from altimeter are not reliable. Therefore, combining altimeter and HFR data will provide a better current field than each data set alone. The study demonstrates the usefulness of the HFR data to study coastal dynamics and links between the coast and open ocean variability.

Comments

(In memoriam)

In memory of William Kurt Dewar: Exploring the dynamics of oceanic boundary currents (e.g., the Gulf Stream) and their impact on weather.

Rights

© 2025 Ezer.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author and the copyright owner is credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Data Availability

Article states: "The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author."

Original Publication Citation

Ezer, T. (2025). Surface currents in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: The role of the Gulf Stream versus wind. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, Article 1645286. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1645286

ORCID

0000-0002-2018-6071 (Ezer)

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