Physical Variability at an East Coast United States Offshore Dumpsite

TLDR: In this paper, three hydrographic stations conducted during a 1977 cruise to Deep Water Dumpsite 106 inadvertently sampled an established anti-cyclonic Gulf Stream ring both prior to and after it interacted with the Gulf Stream.

Abstract: Three hydrographic stations conducted during a 1977 cruise to Deep Water Dumpsite 106 inadvertently sampled an established anti-cyclonic Gulf Stream ring both prior to and after it interacted with the Gulf Stream. Continuous STD data and discrete dissolved oxygen measurements in the ring were analyzed using temperature-salinity (T-S) and temperature-oxygen (T-O2) diagrams. These data showed good correlation with T-S and T-O2 diagrams from Gulf Stream, Sargasso and Slope Waters obtained during a cyclonic Gulf Stream ring study. Apparently, a new entrainment of Gulf Stream Water around the ring occurred within the sampling period and was manifested by increased salinity and decreased levels of dissolved oxygen. Combined satellite surveillance and at-sea measurement of temperature, salinity and oxygen provide an accurate method of describing this highly dynamic and variable region in and around Deep Water Dumpsite 106.