AN UPDATED EVALUATION OF THE LOOP CURRENTS EDDY-SHEDDING FREQUENCY

The Loop Current's eddy-shedding frequency was reevaluated using two e xisting data sets which were updated with 5 years of additional data. The data sets are a 22-year data set (1972-1993) on the eddy-shedding period and a 17-year data set (1977-1993) of the monthly averaged dist ance between the northern boundary of the Loop Current and the 30 degr ees N latitude line. Only Loop Current eddies having diameters larger than 250 km were considered in this study The histogram of the eddy-sh edding periods indicated that there is a primary mode (9 months) and a secondary mode (14 months). The range in the data is from 6.0 to 17 m onths, and the average period is 11 months, with a standard deviation of +/- 3 months. In the histogram of the eddy-shedding periods the fre quency of occurrence for the 11-month period is smaller than those for the primary and secondary modes. However, the 11-month period will ha ve a frequency of occurrence identical to the secondary mode, with onl y one more occurrence of the 11-month period and identical to the prim ary mode, with two more occurrences. The spectrum of the Loop Current' s northern boundary displacements indicated that the predominant perio d was 11.1 months, which conformed to the average separation period.