Characterizing Spatiotemporal Changes of Water Masses in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico 

Abstract

Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a 1000-year, global ocean cycle which is density driven, starting in the North Atlantic. This process consists of the formation of water masses at the surface, which sink due to density changes and spread horizontally. Particularly, temperature and salinity can be used as conservative properties to determine density, identify specific water masses and track THC. The water masses in the Gulf of Mexico are closely tied to global THC.  

This project focused on determining spatiotemporal changes of water masses in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico (GoM), utilizing data from five sites along a descending depth transect from 2013-2017, and 2023. Data were collected using a Seabird CTD along casts from surface to near bottom at sites ranging from 400-2000 m water depth during the same summer period across all years. Cross sections of temperature and salinity were analyzed using Ocean Data View (ODV), and water mass diagrams were created using existing established temperature and salinity ranges. At the surface, both temperature and salinity were high. North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) appears to have expanded over the time frame with clear upwelling events from 2014-2017. There were clear temporal changes in temperature and salinity in lesser water masses to compensate. Understanding  water mass presence and spatiotemporal changes in the GoM is critical to constrain parameters (e.g. sea level rise, heat distribution, weather) essential for global and regional climate models to predict future change.

For more information: cloxford@eckerd.edu

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