Benjamin Franklin. (He had it just about right) The Gulf Stream Image Courtesy of Benjamin Franklin. (He had it just about right) http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/temple/images/gulf_stream.gif

Location Western Boundary of the North Atlantic Ocean Sources: Caribbean Sea, Antilles Current Sharp Transition zone between cold, dense water (Laborador) and warm, less dense water.

Transport: Heat Heat: 1.4 petawatts of heat In conjunction with the Hadley Circulation, this heat transport moderates the climate of Europe. Some argue that the atmosphere plays a larger role here: Mid-latitude Cyclones

Transport: Water Volume: Through Florida Straights: 30 Sv Max. Trans. At 55W: 150 Sv Transport Increases due to mass contributions from the Worthington Gyre and the Northern Recirculation Gyre Downstream of Cape Hatteras, Transport Increases by ~8Sv/100km

Topographical Image: oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/img_topo1/gulf-stream2.jpg

Gulf Stream’s Sink Near 38N 44W: Flow Diverges Toward Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Azores Current (cold)(southward) Following north along the continental slope North Atlantic Current (warm)(Eastward)

Time Variant Structure Large Values of Eddy Kinetic Energy at Labrador/Gulf Stream Interface ~22 Warm Core and 35 Cold core rings are shed: features persist from weeks to a year! Wanders much like a wriggling garden hose

Scaling factors Width: 80-150 km Depth: 800-1200 m Average Speed: 2 m/s

Reference HYCOM Consortium, Live Access Data Server, http://hycom.coaps.fsu.edu/thredds/dodsC/atl_ops.html Joanna Gyory, Arthur J. Mariano, Edward H. Ryan. "The Gulf Stream." Ocean Surface Currents. http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/gulf-stream.html. Lee, Hoyle, “A Gulf Stream Synthetic Geoid for the TOPEX Altimeter,” 1997.