Dynamics of intrathermocline lenses

Abstract

The Mediterranean water outflowing with the bot� tom current from the Strait of Gibraltar occupies intermediate depths in the eastern part of the North Atlantic at depths from 800 to 1500 m (1). Anticy� clonic intrathermocline eddies (lenses) are regularly found in the water column of this water mass over the entire region of its spread. They are also filled with the Mediterranean water and are clearly distinguished by their high values of temperature and salinity. This dis� tinguishing property from the surrounding waters in the core of the lens can vary from 1 to 4 °C by the tem� perature and from 0.3 to 1.0 psu by the salinity depending on the distance of the lens from the region of its formation (1). At the same time, the influence of lenses on the density field is strongly mutually com� pensated, and the lens core is characterized by homo� geneous water density. The absolute values of water density σ0 in the cores of the lenses vary from 27.5 to 28.2, while the cores can be located at depths from 800 to 1400 m (2). The available catalogue of the main characteristics