Ocean dynamics characterization from a multiplatform observing-system approach in the East Central North Atlantic

Abstract

In recent years, the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH) has been collaborating with PLOCAN to establish sustained glider observations across the Northeastern Atlantic. Here, we analyze the data collected by an autonomous underwater glider in two deployments (2019 and 2020) of the observation line between Portugal and the Canary Islands. The water column data collected by the glider is combined with data from multiple sources, namely satellite altimetry and Argo floats, to explore the synergistic use of satellite and in–situ data from multiple platforms. This approach intends to produce a comprehensive picture of the marine environment in depth and at different scales.The study domain covers part of the East Central North Atlantic, namely in the region between Continental Portugal, Madeira Island and the Canary Islands. The region is strongly influenced by the presence of the Mediterranean Water (MW), a warm and salty intermediate water mass, and submesoscale subsurface vortices, known as meddies, are usually present. Several studies have reported that meddies are often accompanied by an anticyclonic circulation at the sea surface, which can be detected using satellite data, in particular, with altimetry and sea surface temperature (SST) data. The identification of a meddy in the Tagus Abyssal Plain (TAP) from glider data collected during missions “Lisboa_2019” (L2019) and “Lisboa_2020” (L2020), and the possibility to detect it from satellite data motivated this study, providing favorable conditions to explore the combination of data from multiple sources. This study shows an example of how to exploit the advantages of combining data from different platforms in sustainable observational programs, maximizing the capacities by each individual technology-component to characterize ocean dynamical features at different spatial and temporal scales.