On the formation and interaction of cyclonic eddies with the Loop Current using NCOM and a suite of observations

The life cycle of cyclonic eddies associated with the Loop Current (LC) evolution is studied using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model, TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry, and AVHRR images. It is shown that the longest period registered between eddy shedding, between February 1998 and August 1999, is associated with the presence of a large cyclone that remains north of the LC during several months. Using numerical simulations, it is shown that large cyclones develop sporadically in the region and that they block the northward penetration of the LC. The LC is shifted to the east and leaks mass, momentum, and energy through a jet and small anticyclones moving along the slope of the West Florida Shelf, east of the cyclone. The process causes an enlargement of the period between eddy shedding.