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A looping current
Image of the Month - April 2003
The Loop Current, in the Gulf of Mexico, is something of an original. This warm current enters the Gulf by the strait between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, and makes a loop that goes more or less deep. Sometimes, this loop breaks, and forms a lone eddy (or ring). This could seem just a curiosity. However, it can have real impact, especially on hurricane intensification (see April 2001 Image of the Month: Tracking hurricanes), and on navigation. Moreover, the Gulf of Mexico is an oil exploitation area, that oceanic perturbations like these eddies can seriously disorganize, or even make hazardous.
See also:
- Applications: Mesoscale circulation
- Applications: Hurricanes
Websites on this subject:
- How the eddies are created (Quarterdeck magazine, Texas A&M University)
- Loop Current (Micom model)