Brazil Current transport variability observed at 34.5°S

CHIDICHIMO, M. P.; PIOLA, A. R.; MEINEN, C. S.; CAMPOS, E.; PEREZ, R. C.; DONG, S.; GARZOLI, S. L.

Honolulu

Congreso; Ocean Obs' 2019: An Ocean of opportunity; 2019

Conosrtium for ocean leadership

We present estimates of the Brazil Current transport variability analysed from data collected along a line in the western South Atlantic at 34.5°S with four pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders (PIES) from May 2009 to present, as part of an array in the South Atlantic to measure the variability of the basin-wide meridional overturning circulation. In 2012, two current-and-pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders (CPIES) were deployed midway between three of the existing sites to augment the horizontal resolution of the array. The combination of the data from the PIES/CPIES and regional hydrographic surveys yields daily estimates of full-depth vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and the meridional component of the absolute geostrophic velocity. Daily time series of absolute BC transport are estimated by vertically integrating the geostrophic velocities (baroclinic referenced to the bottom plus barotropic). Continental shelf flows are estimated using high-resolution hydrographic transects, direct velocity measurements from an ADCP mooring, and numerical models. Here we will present the results from nearly 8 years of measurements and we will discuss them in the context of recently funded enhancements (including biogeochemical measurements) to the current observing array.