Spatiotemporal Variability of Meridional Mass Transport in the North Atlantic

E. I. Klimchuk

Analyzed is the interannual variability of the meridional mass transport S in the North Atlantic based on the Sverdrup relation. The continuous (1980–2005) monthly wind stress dataset with the spatial resolution of 1 1˚was used as the initial data. Sverdrup transport analysis performed for different latitudinal transects within the North Atlantic subtropical gyre demonstrated that the maximum long-term Sverdrup transport (–25.2 Sv) can be found at 33˚N. Studied is a mechanism of the interaction between the meridional Sverdrup transport and the water flow in the Florida Strait. The significant correlation coefficient (0.5) is revealed for the Florida Strait water discharge and the mass transport at 27˚N. Analyzed is the relationship between S and the North Atlantic Oscillation index and the statistically significant correlation coefficient (0.45) is obtained for the Sverdrup transport at 49˚N.