Meeting Abstracts
Lagrangian observations in the southern Gulf of Mexico
Paula Pérez-Brunius, Paula García-Carrillo, Erika Sandoval-Hernández, Jean Dubranna, Julio Sheinbaum, Julio Candela, José Luis Ochoa
Physical Oceanography, CICESE
(Abstract received 05/15/2012 for session A)
ABSTRACT
The circulation in the Bay of Campeche is being measured by surface drifters and an array of ten current-meter moorings since November 2007. The drifters are deployed monthly in five fixed locations, resulting in over 300 instruments launched successfully to-date. These observations show that the cyclonic gyre of the Bay of Campeche is confined to the deep western basin, its mean size and location determined by the bottom topography of the region. By contrast, the eastern basin is relatively quiet, showing a weak meanward drift to the north. Preliminary results suggest that dispersion properties differ between these two regions, with drifters having higher residence times in the western basin. Work in progress addressing transport and mixing properties combining Lagrangian coherent structures from model results as well as dispersion analysis from the drifters will be discussed.