Why Does the Deep Western Boundary Current “Leak” around Flemish Cap?

The southward flowing deep limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is comprised of both the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) and interior pathways. The latter are fed by “leakiness” from the DWBC in the Newfoundland Basin. However, the cause of this leakiness has not yet been explored mechanistically. Here the statistics and dynamics of the DWBC leakiness in the Newfoundland Basin are explored using two float data sets and a high-resolution numerical model. The float leakiness around Flemish Cap is found to be concentrated in several areas (“hotspots”) that are collocated w... Mehr ...