Figure E-1. The research area, showing major ocean currents and 

 bathymetry 



57U 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39U 

 52H t ^ ' >— ' ' ' I ;, I , ' ' I I I ' I 1 • •— — t- S2N 



f SI 

 50 

 49 

 48 



47 

 46 

 4S 



44 

 43 



42 

 41 



40 

 39 

 38 

 37 



36N 



57W 56 55 54 S3 52 51 SO 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39W 



formation. Voorheis efa/. 

 (1 973) suggest eddies in the 

 Newfoundland Basin are 

 bathymetrically generated. 

 The formation of eddies in 

 this study near the 

 bathymetric features support 

 the theory that interaction of 

 the ocean currents with the 

 topography of theSeamounts 

 or the Ridge is important to 

 eddy generation. Figure E-2 

 indicates that except for 

 these two regions the 

 remainder of the area 

 appears to be relatively eddy 

 free. 



Generation and 

 Deterioration 



IR signatures indicate that 

 twenty-one of the eddies 

 (46%) formed from pinched- 

 off meanders, eight (17%) 

 from interactions between 

 currents. Seventeen eddies 

 (37%) had no identifiable 

 source. It is possible that 

 the cloud cover hid the 

 meander from which the eddy 

 formed and that by the time 

 visibility improved, the eddy 

 was in place and the 

 generative process was 

 unobserved. Seven of these 

 eddies were in the Seanrwunt 

 area and ten were near the 

 Ridge. 



Translation Through the 

 Area 



Twenty-one eddies showed a 

 net westward drift 

 throughout their lives. Only 

 three displayed a net 

 eastward drift. The 

 remaining 22 showed no net 

 drift. 



Of the 22 showing no net 

 drift, 18 had a fully- 

 observed life span of fifteen 

 days or less and so may not 

 have had the opportunity to 

 drift at all. Three were seen 

 in periods of heavy cbuds 

 arid so were carried in the 

 original reported positbnfor 

 a month and deleted from the 

 NWS charts. The other four 

 showing no net drift display 

 an oscillatory drift, both 

 east and west alternately. 

 This motion is also displayed 

 by many of the longer-lived 

 eddies that show definite 

 westward net drift. The 

 motion may be explained by 

 positioning errors due to the 

 analysis of the satellite 

 data. 



These same factors may have 

 influended the three eddies 

 that displayed a net 

 eastward drift. Joyce 

 (1984), wor+cing in an area 

 bounded by 40°N - 45°N and 

 55°W - 75°W (immediately to 

 the west of this study area), 

 demonstrated that eddies 

 interacting with the Gulf 

 Stream display a 

 predominantly westward 

 drift. The present study 

 shows similar results 

 because of the 21 eddies 

 showing westward drift, 1 2 

 interacted with the North 

 Atlantic Current (NAC) during 

 their life spans. Of the three 

 that drifted east, one showed 

 no interaction with the 

 parent current. Interactions 

 with the NAC then could not 

 have caused the net eastward 

 drift of the eddies. 



80 



