Gulf Stream mean and eddy kinetic energy: Three‐dimensional estimates from underwater glider observations

Todd, R.E. 2021, Gulf stream mean and eddy kinetic energy: Three-dimensional estimates from underwater glider observations, Geophysical Research Letters, 48(6), e2020GL090281, doi: 10.1029/2020GL090281.

Energy is a key metric of the Earth’s climate system, of which the ocean is a major part. Kinetic energy, the energy of moving water in the ocean, is partitioned into mean kinetic energy that is associated with the time‐averaged ocean circulation and eddy kinetic energy that is associated with time‐varying motions. In a recent paper, Robert Todd used a large set of velocity measurements collected by autonomous underwater gliders (inset image) to make three‐dimensional estimates of mean and eddy kinetic energy in and near the Gulf Stream, one of the strongest currents in the global ocean. The figure shows estimates of the total kinetic energy (mean + eddy) at a depth of 10 m. These new estimates of oceanic kinetic energy serve as a benchmark for numerical simulations of the ocean and climate system to reproduce. Read more about the estimates in Geophysical Research Letters.