Abstract:

This dataset contains circulation characteristics that are typical of circulation north of Cuba, especially anticyclonic eddies (CubANs), a major mesoscale feature along northwestern Cuba. The characteristics have been derived from a) observations, as described in “In situ measurements of circulation features influencing cross-shelf transport around Northwest Cuba”(Le Hénaff et al. 2020); and b) data-validated model outputs, described in: “Gulf Stream evolution through the Straits of Florida: the role of eddies and upwelling near Cuba” (Androulidakis et al., Ocean Sciences, In Revision) and "Pathways of Oil Spills from Potential Cuban Offshore Exploration: Influence of Ocean Circulation" (Androulidakis et al, 2020). The data are organized in three directories: Paper_InSitu contains observations presented in Le Henaff et al 2020; Paper_Pathways contains data from Androulidakis et al (2020, Pathways); and Paper_GulfStream contains oil trajectories from Androulidakis et al (2020, Gulf Stream Evolution). The latter application consists of oil pathways from potential spills in Cuban waters; these have been simulated by OpenOil (part of the the OpenDrift trajectory modeling framework; Dagestad et al., 2018). Simulations were carried out by launching 100 particles daily at the sea surface at 11 potential oil spill sites on the first day of each year from 2011 to 2016. Related datasets R6.x818.000:0011 (doi: 10.7266/6EMHT4E1) and R6.x818.000:0010 (doi: 10.7266/88M3XXQW) also contain data relating to the Gulf Stream evolution paper.

Suggested Citation:

Le Hénaff, Matthieu, Villy Kourafalou, and Lars Hole. 2022. Characteristics and applications of circulation features north of Cuba, southeastern Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida, 2011-2016. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-3vmj-nk86

Publications:

Le Hénaff, M., Kourafalou, V. H., Androulidakis, Y., Smith, R. H., Kang, H., Hu, C., & Lamkin, J. T. (2020). In Situ Measurements of Circulation Features Influencing Cross‐Shelf Transport Around Northwest Cuba. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(7). doi:10.1029/2019jc015780

Androulidakis, Y., Kourafalou, V., Robert Hole, L., Le Hénaff, M., & Kang, H. (2020). Pathways of Oil Spills from Potential Cuban Offshore Exploration: Influence of Ocean Circulation. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8(7), 535. doi:10.3390/jmse8070535

Purpose:

Observational data were collected and model data were generated to understand the impact of circulation features (and especially of Cuban anticyclones “CubANs”) on the circulation and material transport in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.

Data Parameters and Units:

Temperature [°C], salinity [no unit], current velocity [m/s], interfacial_area [m2], mass_evaporated [kg], water_fraction [%], density [kg/m^3], oil_film_thickness [m], viscosity [N s/m2 (Pa s)], entrainment_length_scale [m], mass_dispersed [kg], mass_oil [kg], fraction_evaporated [%].

Methods:

Separate files have been submitted; Description_Methods_Upwelling & Description_Methods_OBS

Provenance and Historical References:

Androulidakis, Y., Kourafalou, V., Le Hénaff, M. et al. 2020. Gulf Stream evolution through the Straits of Florida: the role of eddies and upwelling near Cuba. Ocean Dynamics 70, 1005–1032. DOI: 10.1007/s10236-020-01381-5. Androulidakis, Y.; Kourafalou, V.; Robert Hole, L.; Le Henaff, M.; Kang, H.S. 2020. Pathways of Oil Spills from Potential Cuban Offshore Exploration: Influence of Ocean Circulation. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8, 7, 535. DOI: 10.3390/jmse8070535 Dagestad, K.F., Röhrs, J., Breivik, Ø. and Ådlandsvik, B. 2018. OpenDrift v1. 0: a generic framework for trajectory modelling, Geoscientific Model Development, 11, 1405–1420. Le Henaff, M.; Kourafalou, V.H.; Androulidakis, Y.; Smith, R.H.; Kang, H.S.; Hu, C.; Lamkin, J.T. 2020. In Situ Measurements of Circulation Features Influencing Cross-Shelf Transport Around Northwest Cuba. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125, 7. DOI: 10.1029/2019JC015780

Individual Files: