Pl. Richardson et A. Tychensky, MEDDY TRAJECTORIES IN THE CANARY BASIN MEASURED DURING THE SEMAPHORE EXPERIMENT, 1993-1995, J GEO RES-O, 103(C11), 1998, pp. 25029-25045
As part of the Structures des Echanges Mer-Atmosphere, Proprietes des
Heterogeneites Oceaniques: Recherche Experimentale (SEMAPHORE) experim
ent, four Mediterranean water eddies (Meddies) were identified in the
Canary Basin and tracked with freely drifting RAFOS floats. One large
and energetic Meddy, discovered 1700 km west of Cape Saint Vincent, Po
rtugal, set a distance and speed record as it translated another 1700
km southwestward at 3.9 cm/s during 1.5 years. This Meddy traveled 57%
of the distance from Cape Saint Vincent toward the spot McDowell and
Rossby [1978] found a possible Meddy north of the Dominican Republic.
Two Meddles were observed to interact with the Azores Current as they
passed underneath or through it. Three Meddles collided with tall seam
ounts, which seemed to disrupt the normal swirl velocity, perhaps fata
lly in two cases. One Meddy appeared to bifurcate when it collided wit
h seamounts.