This laboratory experiment simulates North Brazil Current Rings interacting with the Caribbean island chain. In the ocean, these eddies pinch off the North Brazilian Current and travel northwestward before hitting the Caribbean islands. In the laboratory, cold water from the melting ice cube sinks, creating swirling "eddies"?a technique devised by WHOI oceanographic experimentalist, Jack Whitehead. Dye drops on the ice cube make the eddies easier to observe. (Illustration by Jack Cook,Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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