Shelf Break Region Research Articles

Direct measurements of sediment geoacoustic properties in the New England Mud Patch and shelf breaka).

This paper reports on an original set of direct sound speed measurements collected with the acoustic coring system in the New England Mud Patch (NEMP) and shelf break area to the south. Cores collected within the NEMP show range-dependence of the mud with slower sound speed and lower attenuation on the west side. In the shelf break region, the highest sound speeds are observed between the 200- and 350-m isobaths. The depth-dependence of the mud layer in the NEMP includes a surficial layer with a negative sound speed gradient of 28 s-1. The remainder of the mud column has a weak positive sound speed gradient of 6.2 s-1 over an isovelocity layer. Comparison between in situ and ex situ sound speed measurements provides an assessment of the effects of sediment disturbance from gravity coring operations. Small differences in the upper 2.5 m were attributed to the changes in the geoacoustic properties caused by disturbance from the coring process. Below 2.5 m, the average difference is close to zero, suggesting that these sediments were minimally disturbed. Finally, an in situ measurement of shear speed was obtained near the depth of maximum penetration. The shear speed was well correlated with sound speed from approximately the same depth interval.

Long‐Term Surface Current Variability Across the Continental Shelf and Slope

AbstractContinental shelves are amongst the most dynamic and vulnerable regions in the oceans, and understanding their dynamics has implications for the transport of organisms and materials in both coastal and offshore zones. Determining the circulation patterns in systems experiencing high variability is crucial, but challenging as continuous and high‐resolution long‐term data sets are still scarce. In this paper, we use 9‐years (2010–2018) of High‐Frequency Radar surface current observations and satellite‐derived Sea Surface Temperature to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of surface currents on the offshore, shelf break and inner continental regions along the Wadjemup (Rottnest) Continental Shelf (WCS), South‐West Australia. We use the indigenous Noongar calendar that defines six‐seasons: Birak (DJ), Bunuru (FM), Djeran (AM), Makuru (JJ), Djilba (AS), and Kambarang (ON); to better represent the seasonal changes in local winds and surface circulation. The surface currents revealed the poleward‐flowing Leeuwin Current (LC), the equatorward‐flowing Capes Current (CC), their interactions, and eddy features (radii >10 km). The LC was the strongest (weakest) over Djeran/Makuru (Birak/Bunuru), whilst CC and offshore eddies were persistent from Kambarang‐Bunuru. Along WCS, CC and offshore eddies locally modulated LC strength and position, whereas the El Niño Southern Oscillation influenced its interannual variability. During El Niño (La Niña) years, LC was weakened (strengthened), whilst CC and offshore eddy activity were strengthened (weakened). Particularly during La Niña years, LC increased its cross‐shore migration and had an unseasonal peak in 2011. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the variability of boundary and coastal currents, and their local impacts on coastal circulation.

Influences of tides on shelf circulation in the northeastern South China Sea during summer

Tides have significant effects on material and energy transports over the continental shelf. A mooring system located in the shelf region of the northeastern South China Sea observed strong and weak mean currents during the spring and neap tides in summer, respectively. The mechanism leading to this difference is investigated by using a three-dimensional circulation model. We find that the impact of tides (TI) on currents exhibited as current components opposing wind-driven circulation play an important role. The TI current components are stronger than the tidal residual currents in summer when vertical stratification enhances the tidal rectification. Tides can affect pressure gradient by modifying sea surface height on the shelf, while in shallow and shelf break regions, the non-linear advection and vertical diffusion become significant in momentum equations attributable to the interactions of tidal currents, bottom topography and water column stratification. Consequently, the along-shelf volume transport is reduced by about 21.6% due to the TI current components and only by about 6.1% due to the tidal residual currents. This study highlights the importance of both tidal mixing and tidal rectification in regulating shelf circulation in the northeastern South China Sea.

The anomalous magmatism in the southern part of the Santos basin, and the non-continuous salt layer over Abimael Ridge

The magmatism in the Santos Basin is related to the following main events: (1) the pre-rift volcanic episode; (2) the syn-rift to late syn-rift episode; (3) the late Cretaceous episode; and (4) the Paleogene episode. This works focuses on the characterization of these events using seismic data and borehole interpretation in the southern part of the basin. The late Cretaceous magmatic episode is recorded in the shelf break region by 3D seismic data. A mini-basin with possible turbidite reservoirs was tested by an exploratory borehole that revealed several igneous features, including volcaniclastic sequences, sills, and volcanic plugs. Basinward, the evaporite layers are thicker and form salt walls above a detachment at the base of the salt reflector, which climbs up oceanward. The analysis of strong reflectors within the distal salt wall suggested three alternative interpretations, including igneous sills within the salt mass, anhydrite lenses, carbonate rafts, carbonate stringers, pre-salt microbialite buildups, and pre-salt volcanic rocks. The interpretation of the seismic and potential field data, constrained by the borehole results, indicates that the strong reflector corresponds to the top of the volcanic layers below the pre-salt microbialites.The anomalous magmatism and salt tectonics styles in the southern part of the Santos Basin are related to a swath of embryonic oceanic crust that was emplaced during the late Aptian to early Albian. The interpretation of a regional profile extending from the continental shelf to the oceanic crust provides evidence for the separation of the salt masses by a failed oceanic spreading center, which is corroborated by the gravity and magnetic models.

Response of nutrients and primary production to high wind and upwelling-favorable wind in the Arctic Ocean: A modeling perspective

Both remote sensing and numerical models revealed increasing net primary production (NPP) in the Arctic Ocean due to declining sea ice cover and increasing ice-free days. The NPP increases in some parts of the Arctic Ocean are also hypothesized to link to high wind (>10 m/s) and upwelling-favorable wind, however, the mechanism remains unclear. Using Regional Arctic System Model (RASM) to investigate the relationship between NPP and wind, we found that the seasonal NPP are statistically correlated to high wind frequency (HWF) in the Barents (Br) and Southern Chukchi Seas (SC) due to their high subsurface nutrients in the 20-50 m layer. Five high and five low HWF years along a zonally averaged section were chosen to understand the spatial variation of the correlation between HWF, NO3, and NPP in the SC. During high HWF years, the decrease in subsurface NO3 exceeds its increase in surface, implying the utilization by biological productivity. A more positive response of NPP to HWF in north SC than south was also found because more subsurface nutrients were entrained into the surface by higher HWF. The NPP are statistically correlated to easterly wind frequency (EWF) in the Beaufort and Canada Basin (BC), where the stronger EWF-induced upwelling could bring up higher nutrients from >100 m depth. While the nutrients and NPP in the south BC are normally higher than in the north, an increase of EWF can further enhance the nutrients and NPP in the south much more than those in the north. Differences between five high and five low EWF years reveal that the increase of EWF is most important around the shelf break region, where NO3 and NPP are also most enhanced. The enhancement of NPP by higher HWF in the Br and SC is less than that by higher ice-free days ratio (IFR), while the enhancement of NPP by higher EWF in BC is of similar magnitude to that by IFR. As the trend of declining sea ice cover continues, it’s necessary to advance our understanding on the nutrients and NPP response to changing wind regimes in different Arctic regions.

Habitat and abundance of cetaceans in Atlantic Ocean continental slope waters off the eastern USA

This study quantifies the abundance and spatial distribution of the cetacean community occupying continental shelf edge and inner continental slope waters along the US southeast Atlantic coast. A shipboard visual line-transect survey was conducted between June and August of 2004 that included effort in waters >50m deep encompassing the shelf break and inner continental slope off the US east coast between 28°N and 38°N latitude. The abundance of nine cetacean taxa was estimated using line-transect distance analysis and an independent observer approach to correct for visibility bias. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the spatial distribution of the cetaceans encountered during the survey as a function of surface temperature, surface salinity, surface fluorescence, bottom depth, and bottom slope. The abundance estimates for most species were much higher than those from a study of the area conducted in 1998. This is primarily due to increased coverage of the shelf-break region and correction for visibility bias. The multivariate analysis indicated four distinct groups of cetaceans that partitioned habitat as a function of salinity, depth, and a latitudinal gradient. These groups were associated with specific water masses and hydrographic features including mid-Atlantic shelf waters (Group I), the shelf break (Group II), mid-Atlantic slope waters (Group III), and south Atlantic slope water (Group IV). Areas where water masses converge such as the continental shelf break along the mid-Atlantic and near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina are therefore areas of both high diversity and density of cetaceans.

Spatial and temporal separation of toothed whales in the western North Atlantic

A diverse group of toothed whale species inhabits the pelagic habitats of the western North Atlantic, competing for overlapping prey resources. Historical data deficits have limited fundamental research into many of these species, such as establishing baselines of distribution and abundance, so their occurrence and habitat use patterns are not well characterized. Periodic cycles in activity have been reported at a range of temporal scales for odontocetes in other regions, such as seasonal movements, foraging activity modulated by lunar cycles, and diel activity patterns. A variety of spatial, temporal, and behavioral separation strategies have also been observed among predator guilds in both marine and terrestrial systems, and these may also contribute to observed spatiotemporal patterns in activity. Recently, passive acoustic data has been applied to monitor odontocete species continuously, with improved detection and species discrimination for some cryptic species. We used a long-term passive acoustic data set collected at sites spanning the western North Atlantic shelf-break region to quantify presence and characterize seasonal, lunar, and diel activity patterns for 10 species. Our results demonstrated strong regional preferences and clear patterns of spatiotemporal separation between species with similar foraging ecology. Latitudinal shifts in seasonal presence peaks may suggest meridional seasonal migrations for some dolphin species. We also observed strong diel activity patterns that were modulated by both seasonal and lunar cycles. This study reveals complex behavioral patterns arising in response to natural cycles playing out over multiple temporal scales and provides new insights into habitat partitioning among toothed whale species.

Broadband acoustic wave propagation in temporally variable range dependent shallow water environment

Broadband acoustic wave propagation in shallow water regions involves interactions with the sea surface, sea bottom, and the water column. The topic of shallow water acoustics in the presence of variable water column has been of interest in recent years. Experimental observations have shown the importance of the effects due to the boundaries and the sound speed profile in the water column. However, more work needs to be done to establish ground truth in numerical modeling for temporally variable water column in a range dependent environment. In this paper we examine the broadband propagation on the shelf as well as the range dependent shelf break regions to depict how temporal variability of sound speed could change the dispersion characteristics of the broadband signal. Comparison between modeled and experimental data are provided. [Work supported by ONR OA program.]

Shelfbreak processes affecting acoustic propagation in a changing ocean

Fundamental physical oceanographic processes affecting sound speed fields and acoustic propagation have been studied in shelfbreak regions for some time. Integrated observations extending back to the 1990s have related acoustic propagation variability to basic thermohaline structure as well as physical oceanographic processes causing significant variability in sound speed fields. Key shelfbreak processes such as frontal wave propagation, eddy-Shelfbreak Jet interactions, and wind-driven motions will be described. The influence of ocean warming and climate change impacts on these processes will be outlined with emphasis on the Middle Atlantic Bight in the northeastern United States. The impacts of changes in both the atmospheric Jet Stream as well as the Gulf Stream on the Shelfbreak Front and Jet and implications for acoustic propagation will be presented.

Primary Productivity in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Is the Shelf Break a Location of Enhanced Productivity?

Estimates of primary production represent the input of carbon into food webs, as well as the initial step in the biological pump. For the past 60 years, much of the productivity information has been obtained using measurements of 14C-bicarbonate removal during simulated in situ incubations. However, such measurements often do not reflect the complexity of the environment, and also suffer from uncertainties, biases and limitations. A vertically resolved bio-optical model has been used to estimate productivity based on profiles commonly assessed in oceanographic investigations, but comparisons with simultaneous measurements of 14C-uptake are limited. We conducted three cruises off the coast of New England that included sampling continental shelf waters, the shelf-break region, and deeper waters at scales of 7 km, all of which had productivity estimated by a vertically resolved productivity model as well as by traditional 14C-uptake measurements using simulated in situ techniques. We found that the vertically resolved bio-optical model gave results that appear to be more robust and resolved productivity at smaller vertical and horizontal scales, and seem less biased by some of the uncertainties in 14C-uptake measurements. Both estimates suggest that the New England waters are highly productive due to a variety of biological and physical processes occurring at different times of the year, but there was no consistent stimulation at the shelf break over the time scales of these estimates.

Correlation between the fluctuations of underwater sound propagation and shelfbreak oceanography

A network of sound sources, hydrophone arrays and physical oceanography and biological survey equipment was established at the southern edge of the New England Shelf in May 2021 to investigate how the oceanic processes at shelfbreak regions affect underwater sound propagation. The ocean processes of particular interest include shelfbreak fronts, shelf water streamers, thermohaline intrusions, and internal waves along with other significant marine geological features and biological factors, such as seafloor slopes, submarine canyons, variable seabed properties, and fish schooling and shoaling. With fixed propagation paths, acoustic fluctuations can be correlated with environmental variations between the network nodes. The temporal scale of the acoustic measurements ranges from minutes to weeks, and the spatial coverage is up to 20–30 km. Adaptive sampling and tracking of acoustic sensitivity “hot spots” was also conducted during the experiment to assist real-time joint ocean acoustics and circulation modeling. This presentation will review the design concept of this ocean acoustic network experiment and provide an overview the preliminary results. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]

Poleward eddy-induced warm water transport across a shelf break off Totten Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

Ice mass loss in the Wilkes Land sector of East Antarctica and the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors of West Antarctica has contributed to a rise in sea levels over several decades. The massive continental ice behind the Totten Ice Shelf, equivalent to a few meters of sea-level rise, is grounded well below sea level and therefore, potentially vulnerable to oceanic heat. Here, we present analyses of comprehensive hydrographic observations at the continental slope and shelf break regions off Totten Ice Shelf. We provide robust evidence that the relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water that originates at intermediate depths in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is transported efficiently towards the shelf break by multiple cyclonic eddies. We propose that these semi-permanent cyclonic circulations play a critical role in transporting the available ocean heat towards Totten Ice Shelf, and melting it from underneath, thus eventually influencing the global climate.

Cohort analysis of Euphausia pacifica from the Northeast Pacific population using a Gaussian mixture model

Euphausia pacifica cohorts were identified from biweekly zooplankton samples collected on the Newport Hydrographic Line (Newport, Oregon, USA) from 2001 to 2011. Cohorts were identified using a Gaussian mixture model and tracked over time from the juvenile stage through adulthood. Initial size mode at the juvenile stage was typically 4–5 mm and final size modes ranged from 12 to 18 mm. In total, 28 cohorts were identified, of which 22 appear to be complete cohorts that were tracked from start to finish during the 11-year study period. Of these 22 cohorts, 19 were tracked for ≤1.5 years. The three cohorts tracked for >2 years grew more slowly than other cohorts, though their final size modes were similar. These three cohorts were associated with delayed upwelling and moderate chlorophyll concentrations, suggesting that their extended duration and slower growth were related to suboptimal environmental conditions. Growth rates calculated from cohort size modes decreased overall as animals reached adult size. Cohort analysis captured some instances of negative growth, particularly after animals reached a total length of 10 mm, similar to instantaneous growth rates (IGR) measured in a previous study. Survivorship curves were created from eggs and larvae for each year from 2001 to 2005. Survivorship was similar among years except in 2005 when upwelling and subsequent spawning were delayed by one month. Based on the survivorship curves, the E. pacifica juvenile stage lasts an average of six months and the total life span in the study area is approximately two years. Successful identification and tracking of cohorts suggests that euphausiids at station NH25 are representative of the overall population dynamics of Euphausia pacifica in the shelf-break region off the Oregon Coast.

Seasonal Upwelling in the Northern Arafura Sea from Multi-datasets in 2017

Seasonal upwelling phenomenon in the Arafura Sea plays an important role on supplying upwelled nutrient-rich water to sustain biogeochemistry processes and thus contributes to high marine primary productivity and fisheries resources in this region. The objective of this research was to investigate physical process and dynamics of upwelling by analyzing stratification of seawater properties, evolution of surface ocean-atmosphere parameters, and current structure and transport volume in the northern Arafura Sea. The multi-datasets in 2017 were used in this study, acquired from field CTD measurement, satellite-derived sea surface parameters, and the ocean general circulation model outputs, which were processed and analyzed using the available standard procedure. It was found that upwelling event was associated with a sharp subsurface thin layer that upsloping isotherms (23.5 - 25.5°C), isohalines (33.50 - 34.25 psu), and isopycnals (21.8 - 23.2 kg/m³) from the shelf-break region to the inner shelf region at a distance of approximately 167 km. This barrier layer separated the first surface mixed layer from the second mixed layer beneath the subsurface layer. The model suggests that the current in these two layers is in the opposite direction, to the west in the first layer as a response to the Ekman drift and to the east in the second layer as a current extension from deep Aru basin. Therefore, upwelling dynamics here is not only generated by the southeasterly monsoon winds from May (onset) to November (termination) that transport warm and fresh surface water away from the shelf, but also modulated by the presence of strong inflow currents beneath subsurface that supply colder saltier nutrient-rich water into the shelf. During the upwelling period, mean transport volume in the upper 25 m depth between Aru and Papua at 134.25°E was -0.28 (±0.34) Sv (westward), but the transport volume between 25m and 110m depth was +1.06 (±0.29) Sv (eastward), suggesting this inflow may regulate the upwelling and supply Arafura shelf water.

Subsurface Ocean Warming Hotspots and Potential Impacts on Marine Species: The Southwest South Atlantic Ocean Case Study

Fil: Franco, Barbara Cristie. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; Argentina

A comparison of marine Fe and Mn cycling: U.S. GEOTRACES GN01 Western Arctic case study

Dissolved iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) share common sources and sinks in the global ocean. However, Fe and Mn also have different redox reactivity and speciation that can cause their distributions to become decoupled. The Arctic Ocean provides a unique opportunity to compare Fe and Mn distributions because the wide Arctic continental shelves provide significant margin fluxes of both elements, yet in situ vertical regeneration inputs that can complicate scavenging calculations are negligible under the ice of the Arctic Ocean, making it easier to interpret the fate of lateral gradients. We present here a large-scale case study demonstrating a three-step mechanism for Fe and Mn decoupling in the upper 400 m of the Western Arctic Ocean. Both Fe and Mn are released during diagenesis in porewaters of the Chukchi Shelf, but they become immediately decoupled when Fe is much more rapidly oxidized and re-precipitated than Mn in the oxic Chukchi Shelf water column, leading to Fe hosted primarily in the particulate phase and Mn in the dissolved phase. However, as these shelf fluxes are transported toward the shelf break and subducted into the subsurface halocline water mass, the loss rates of all species change significantly, causing further Fe and Mn decoupling. In the second decoupling step in the shelf break region, the dominant shelf species are removed rapidly via particle scavenging, with smallest soluble Fe (sFe < 0.02 µm) being least subject to loss, while colloidal Fe (0.02 µm < cFe < 0.2 µm), dissolved Mn (dMn), and non-lithogenic particulate Fe (pFexs) are all lost at similarly rapid rates. In the third decoupling step, once these species are swept >1000 km offshore with the prevailing current into the low-particle waters of the open Arctic, cFe and dMn appear conserved, while pFe, dFe, and sFe are very slowly removed with variable log-scale distances of transport: pFe ≪ dFe < sFe. To assess the role of physicochemical speciation on these trends, we observed that Fe(II) was a small (∼7%) fraction of total dFe in the upper 400 m of the Arctic, even over the shelf (∼2%). Also, colloidal contribution to dFe was very low (∼20%) in the open Arctic, in contrast to dFe in the North Atlantic, which is composed much more by colloids (≥50%). Throughout the Western Arctic Ocean, Fe and Mn are thus decoupled as a result of distinct oxidation kinetics and different scavenging rates within high- and low-particle regimes. As the “scavengers of the sea”, the relative distribution of particulate Fe and Mn phases across the Arctic Ocean shelf and slope, respectively, will play an important role in determining the distribution and ultimate sediment burial site for other scavenging-prone trace elements. Additionally, we suggest that the future effects of climate change, including loss of sea ice that could impact the formation of the halocline, might change distributions of Fe and Mn species in the future Western Arctic.

Distribution and genetic variability of young-of-the-year greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) in the East China Sea

We examined the distribution and genetic variability of the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili in the East China Sea (ECS) from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of young-of-the-year (YOY) individuals, which may reflect the genetic characteristics of the spawning population. In the years 2016 and 2017, a total of 165 YOY S. dumerili were collected from two different locations in the ECS: the southern part of the ECS, and western Japanese coast. The spawning period was estimated using otolith daily increments from a total of 67 larvae and juveniles collected in the ECS. Results from size and age distribution indicated that S. dumerili spawned near the shelf break region in the southern ECS from January to April. Phylogenetic analysis based on mtDNA sequence data showed no significant genetic differentiation among samples collected from different locations, implying S. dumerili in the ECS is mainly composed of one population. S. dumerili around the Japanese coast may be originated from the southern ECS.

Nutrients and particulate organic matter dynamics in the outer-shelf of the South Brazil Bight: Two distinct scenarios during summer 2013

The pool of particulate organic matter driven by primary production in western boundary continental margins is known to be smaller than the highly eutrophic upwelling systems of eastern margins. Its production and export, however, can be high compared to productive ocean environments due to inherent specific physical dynamics such as mesoscale instabilities driven by the boundary current. To investigate how such physical process influence nutrients, chlorophyll-a and particulate matter on the outer shelf of the South Brazil Bight, two oceanographic cruises were conducted three months apart (November 2012 and January 2013), both under wind conditions that favor intrusions of South Atlantic Central Water (SACW). Our results showed two distinct hydrographic scenarios derived by the relative positions of oceanographic fronts in the outer shelf and shelf break region, associated with the Brazil Current (BC). In November 2012, the oligotrophic Tropical Water occupied a larger area of the continental shelf. Low nutrients and chlorophyll-a concentrations were found, typical of a regenerated production system. In contrast, maximum concentration of particulate matter and particulate inorganic carbon occurred at deeper layers in this period, together with low POC:PON ratio — probably from sediment resuspension. In January 2013, a strong shelf break upwelling was detected that enhanced SACW intrusion, notably increasing nutrient availability in the euphotic zone and the chlorophyll-a concentration at deeper layers. These deep chlorophyll maximum layers contribute to the production and accumulation of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen under these conditions. BC mesoscale instabilities appear to act as a particulate matter transport and export agent to the deep waters throughout the South Brazil Bight outer shelf.

Trichome abundance, chlorophyll content and the spectral coefficient for light absorption of Trichodesmium slicks observed in the Southwestern Atlantic

Abstract Dense slicks of Trichodesmium were found in the shelf-break region in the Southwestern Atlantic during austral spring and autumn. A total of 14 slicks were sampled, and the absorption coefficients of phytoplankton (aph(λ)) indicated clear spectral features of phycobilin pigments. Although these samples showed low-degradation products and detrital importance, the chemotaxonomy, shape, and magnitude of aph(λ) indicated the importance of co-occurring species in the slicks. In addition to the difficulties of enumerating trichomes in situ, co-occurring species affect the expected chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) to trichome ratio, further complicating the detection of Trichodesmium by ocean colour remote sensing. Our results showed that trichome density could be predicted similarly by Chl-a and by aph(621), especially for trichome densities above 8000 trichomes L−1. The phycocyanin spectral feature is a potential source of quantitative information for the detection of Trichodesmium, but noninvasive techniques for quantifying the abundance of Trichodesmium in natural waters are necessary.

Structure and dynamics of undercurrents in the western boundary current of the Bay of Bengal

The structure and variability of undercurrents in the East India Coastal Current (EICC), which is the western boundary current system in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), and the mechanisms of their formation are examined in this study. We used current data collected by Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) moored off Cuddalore (~ 12oN), Kakinada (~ 16.5oN), Visakhapatnam (~ 17.7oN), and Gopalpur (~ 19.4oN) and simulations for the period 2013–2014 from a high-resolution model configured for the BoB. The undercurrents were observed at all these locations, mainly during summer (June–August) and winter (October–December). Undercurrents were seen at relatively shallow depths (75 m), and their occurrences were more frequent off Cuddalore, whereas they were deep (100–150 m) and less frequent in the northern part of the east coast (off Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur). Numerical simulations showed that the interaction of the westward propagating anticyclonic eddies with the equatorward EICC weakened the strong surface flow and reversed the weak subsurface flow in the northern part of the western BoB. This interaction resulted in the formation of the poleward undercurrent here. Once these mesoscale eddies dissipated due to the interaction with the continental slope, the poleward undercurrents vanished and equatorward flow in the subsurface reappeared. The observed undercurrents near the shelf break region (75–200 m) in the southern part of the coast (off Cuddalore) were associated with small subsurface eddies (diameter of about 20–30 km), which developed due to large zonal gradient in the alongshore component of EICC. Subsurface anticyclonic circulations of larger spatial extent (diameter > 200 km) were responsible for the observed undercurrents in the deeper levels (deeper than 250 m) off Cuddalore. We further show that intraseasonal variability of undercurrents near the shelf break off Cuddalore was directly linked to intraseasonal variability in the strength of surface EICC itself. Results from this study suggest that the undercurrents observed below the EICC were not continuous poleward flow, but they were part of distinct anticyclonic eddies.