Satellite Observations of the Brazil and Falkland Currents - 1975 to 1976 and 1978

Abstract

Satellite infrared observations of the Brazil and Falkland currents were made from September 1975 to April 1976 and from January to July 1978. The warm water associated with the Brazil Current fluctuates southward and northward between 38 and 46 S with a time scale of about two months. Warm core eddies are formed during the northward phase at intervals of about one week. These eddies are elliptical with a mean major axis of 180 km and a minor axis of 120 km. The eddies drift southward at speeds of 4 to 35 km day(expn -1), and the higher speeds are associated with the more recently formed eddies. Hydrographic surveys during 1978 on the ARA Islas Orcadas revealed the subsurface structure of the warm core eddies and the Brazil Current. The surface thermal patterns detected by satellite were correlated with the subsurface thermal structure and the mixed layer depth.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA636911

Entities

People

  • Arnold L. Gordon
  • Richard Legeckis

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Climate Change
  • Cold Water
  • Geosynchronous Satellites
  • Gulf Stream
  • Measurement
  • Observation
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Orbits
  • Physical Oceanography
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Southern Ocean
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Topography

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Mycotoxin ecology in Amazonian ecosystems.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space