Interannual variability and trends in the Middle Atlantic Bight cold pool

Abstract

The Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) exhibits one of the largest seasonal cycles of temperature in the global ocean. During the summer, the water column is strongly stratified with warm surface waters separated from much colder bottom waters by a strong, shallow thermocline. The bottom water that remains cold in the summer months is referred to as the ‘cold pool’. The cold pool is formed as the stratification sets up in late spring and it remains until fall mixing breaks down the seasonal thermocline with each passing storm; it usually breaks down in September or October. The cold pool is an important feature of the MAB as it influences the surrounding waters, the intensity of storms, and fish assemblages over the MAB. We use various data sources to explore interannual variability and long-term climatic trends in summer stratification and cold pool source water. Annual trawls conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Services (NOAA NMFS) provide temperature and salinity measurements consistently from 1980 to the present. Slocum gliders have been regularly deployed along New Jersey shelf since 2003 and collect data for various organizations such as Rutgers University and the Environmental Protection Agency. NOAA's National Data Buoy Center provides several buoys in the region that have been collecting data since the early 1980's. A better understanding of the cold pool can lead to a better understanding of ocean and storm interactions in the MAB and of potential climate change impacts on the region.