[Submission]: Gulf Stream Index

BBeltz1 commented 11 months ago

Primary Contact

zhuomin.chen@uconn.edu

Secondary Contact

No response

Data Name (This will be the displayed title in Catalog)

Gulf Stream Index

Indicator Name (as exists in ecodata)

gsi

Family (Which group is this indicator associated with?)

[X] Oceanographic
[ ] Habitat
[ ] Lower trophic levels
[ ] Megafauna
[ ] Social
[ ] Economic

Data Description

The monthly Gulf Stream North Wall Index presented here are based on the gridded EN.4.2.2 analyses dataset from 1954 to 2022 (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/en4/), calculated following @joyce_relationship_2009.

Introduction to Indicator (Please explain your indicator)

The T200-based Gulf Stream Index is calculated as the standardized first principal component time series from the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the 200 m temperature time series at the 20 base points (selected along the climatological 15°C isotherm at 200 m between 74° and 55°W) and it represents the meridional fluctuation of the Gulf Stream North Wall [@joyce_meridional_2019; @chi_distinction_2019].

Key Results and Visualization

The Gulf Stream Index suggest that recent years (2021-2022) the GS almost maintains its relative northward shift relative to the long-term mean.

Implications

The Gulf Stream North Wall Index indicates the meridional shift of the Gulf Stream position on monthly timescale, which may affect the slope water properties intruding onto the continental shelf. The GSNW index is also suggested to be an good indicator for biomass distribution of multiple marine fishes (e.g., silver hake @nye_gulf_2011). As the Gulf Stream has become less stable and shifted northward in the last decade (Fig. ), warmer ocean temperatures have been observed on the northeast shelf @zhang_role_2007, and a higher proportion of Warm Slope Water has been present in the Gulf of Maine Northeast Channel @goddard_extreme_2015, and sea surface height along the U.S. east coast has increased. Since 2008, the Gulf Stream has moved closer to the Grand Banks, reducing the supply of cold, fresh, and oxygen-rich Labrador Current waters to the Northwest Atlantic Shelf @goncalves_neto_changes_2021

Spatial Scale

Gulf Stream between 74°W and 55°W

Temporal Scale

Monthly from 1954 to 2022

Synthesis Theme

[X] Multiple System Drivers
[ ] Regime Shifts
[ ] Ecosystem Reorganization

Define Variables

Name: GSI; Definition: Gulf Stream North Wall Index (T200-based using EN4 datasets); Units: None.

Indicator Category

[X] Published Methods
[ ] Extensive analysis, not yet published
[X] Syntheses of published information
[ ] Database pull
[X] Database pull with analysis
[ ] Other

If other, please specify indicator category

No response

Data Contributors

Zhuomin Chen

Point(s) of Contact

Zhuomin Chen (zhuomin.chen@uconn.edu)

Affiliation

?

Public Availability

Source data are publicly available.

Accessibility and Constraints

No response

andybeet commented 9 months ago

[x] Joyce et al. (2009).
[x] Joyce et al, 2019
[x] Chi et al., 2019).
[x] Nye et al., 2011

sgaichas commented 9 months ago

Added Nye et al 2011 Gulf {Stream} position determines spatial distribution of silver hake: nye_gulf_2011 Joyce et al 2019 Meridional {Gulf} {Stream} {Shifts} {Can} {Influence} {Wintertime} {Variability} in the {North} {Atlantic} {Storm} {Track} and {Greenland} {Blocking}: joyce_meridional_2019 Joyce et al 2009 On the {Relationship} between {Synoptic} {Wintertime} {Atmospheric} {Variability} and {Path} {Shifts} in the {Gulf} {Stream} and the {Kuroshio} {Extension}: joyce_relationship_2009 Chi et al 2019 The {Distinction} {Between} the {Gulf} {Stream} and {Its} {North} {Wall}: chi_distinction_2019

NOAA-EDAB / catalog