Collision of a loop current anticyclonic ring against the continental shelf slope of the western Gulf of Mexico

A Loop Current anticyclonic ring ∼330 km in diameter and extending to a depth of >1500 m was observed to collide in January of 1984 against the continental shelf slope of the western Gulf of Mexico between 21.5° and 23°N. The collision occurred precisely at the time we conducted our Argos 84−1 hydrographic cruise in the western gulf (26°00′ to 19°20′N) aboard the R/V Justo Sierra . The Caribbean Subtropical Underwater (SUW) was used as a tracer to identify the Loop Current anticyclonic ring within the western gulf. The collision was identified from temperature and salinity distributions and from the dynamic topography distribution relative to 500 m. The ring's collision zone was identified by the presence of a horizontal baroclinic flow divergence, to the east of Tamiahua, that divides the surface circulation into northward and southward baroclinic currents parallel to the western gulf's continental shelf break, with speeds of 85 and 32 cm s −1 , respectively. Horizontal divergence and vertical convergence (ring asymmetries) resulted at the focus of the anticyclonic ring's collision and originated the alongshore self advection and northward translation of the colliding anticyclone. Upon colliding the anticyclonic ring shed approximately one third of its volume (∼2 × 10 4 km 3 ), mass, and transferred angular momentum to the south flanking water mass, thus generating a cyclonic ring to the south of the collision zone. The observed alongshelf southward current results from mass conservation and volume continuity requirements associated with the anticyclonic ring's volume shedding and most probably constitutes the colliding ring's potential vorticity conservation mechanism. The weakening of the anticyclonic ring's relative vorticity due to the collision is most likely made up by gain of vorticity from lateral shear in the northward and southward current jets parallel to the continental shelf break. The core of both the anticyclonic and cyclonic rings had typical SUW salinity (>36.5‰) and temperature (∼22.5°C) values. The rings were separated by a 5 × 10 4 km 2 divergence zone occupied by Gulf Common Water (GCW). The SUW was absent within the collision zone to the east of Tampico (22.3°N, 97.8°W). The GCW within this divergence zone resulted from the convective mixing and dilution of the SUW with less saline (36.1 ≤ S ≤ 36.3‰) water from the uppermost layer of the thermocline. Hence the collision of Loop Current anticyclones against the western continental shelf slope of the gulf constitutes a primary mechanism by which 30 Sv of SUW are converted to GCW in the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, the coastal and continental shelf water temperature and salinity distributions that resulted from the ring's collision indicate that the offshore GCW mass intrudes the continental shelf to the east of Tamiahua and is diluted by low‐salinity coastal water within the western continental shelf. This GCW mass intrusion most probably constitutes a principal and efficient exchange mechanism between the western gulf's continental shelf and offshore waters.