简介:AnalysisofArgofloattrajectoriesat1000mandtemperatureat950mintheNorthAtlanticbetweenNovember2003andJanuary2005demonstratestheexistenceoftwodifferentcirculationmodeswithfasttransitionbetweenthem.Eachmodehasapairofcyclonic-anticyclonicgyres.Thedifferenceisthelocationofthecyclonicgyre.Thecyclonicgyrestretchesfromsoutheasttonorthwestinthefirstmodeandfromthesouthwesttothenortheastinthesecondmode.TheobservedmodesstronglyaffecttheheatandsalttransportintheNorthAtlantic.Inparticular,thesecondmodeslowsdownthewestwardtransportofthewarmandsalinewaterfromtheMediterraneanSea.