Posted by Alberto Piola on May 16, 2001 at 08:47:08:
In Reply to: BMC floats posted by Olaf Boebel on May 16, 2001 at 07:27:01:
Dear Olaf,
Thanks for your comments. Indeed the SST field is not always a good indicator of the Confluence at thermocline or intermediate levels. CTD data also reveals shifts of the order of 100 km between the surface and subsurface location of the front. The cross-front exchanges at the SAMW/AAIW level you refer to appear to be less frequent at the surface, or perhaps are more difficult to detect from drifters(?).
We have used the drifters to correct relative geostrophic velocities in the axis of the Malvinas (similar to what was done by Peterson et al. 1996), as well as ALACE float data in the 800-1000m depth range. The RAFOS floats could provide a more accurate and independent check for these computations.