What factors influence the frequencies of Loop Current shedding?
[Oey, Lee and Schmitz, 2003] It is well-known that in the Gulf of Mexico, the Loop Current sheds eddies at a wide range of periods: from as short as 2~3 months to as long as about 18 months. Model experiments may be used to isolate various factors that influence the shedding periods, and that is what we did in Oey, Lee and Schmitz, 2003. The lower-left inset in the figure above shows our model domain with bottom-depth contours and some schematic sketches of the regional circulation. The upper-right inset shows surface currents as streamlines colored with the local speeds – blue 0.2, green 0.5 and red > 1 m/s. These currents are actually quite representative of the ocean surface state on that date (actual date is not important for this discussion) because we calculated them by combining the model with satellite data through an analysis process called data assimilation [e.g. Lin, Oey & Wang, 2007]. Thus, on this date, the Loop Current is about to shed an eddy, and there also exist many o
