Upper‐ocean velocity structure of Gulf Stream warm‐core ring 82B

Acoustio Doppler current profiling of warm‐core ring (WCR) 82B revealed changes in the velocity structure over much of the ring's 7‐month lifespan. As ring diameter decreased, peak speeds in the high‐velocity region decreased from 0.8 m s−1 in April 1982 to 0.5 m s−1 in August 1982. Azimuthally averaged velocities revealed the core of WCR 82B to be in near solid‐body rotation, with little measurable horizontal divergence at 100 m. In addition, potential vorticity was conserved in the ring core despite interactions with the Gulf Stream and large changes in ring size. Deviations from symmetry in WCR 82B were caused by superposition with the shelf‐slope front, small cyclonic eddies, and upper‐layer mean flow.