Weddell Gyre

Location of the Weddell Gyre in the Weddell Sea.

The Weddell Gyre is one of the two gyres that exist within the Southern Ocean. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The gyre is located in the Weddell Sea, and rotates clockwise. South of the ACC and spreading northeast from the Antarctic Peninsula, the gyre is an extended large cyclone. Where the northeastern end ends at 30°E, which is marked by the southward turn of the ACC, the northern part of the gyre spreads over the Southern Scotia Sea and goes northward to the South Sandwich Arc. Axis of the gyre is over the southern flanks of the South Scotia, America-Antarctic, and Southwest Indian Ridges.[1] In the southern part of the gyre, the westward return flow is about 66 sverdrup (Sv), while in the northern rim current, there is an eastward flow of 61 Sv.[2]

  1. ^ Orsi, Alejandro H. (January 1993). "On the circulation and stratification of the Weddell Gyre". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 40 (1): 169–203. Bibcode:1993DSRI...40..169O. doi:10.1016/0967-0637(93)90060-G.
  2. ^ Schröder, Michael (January 1999). "On the structure and the transport of the eastern Weddell Gyre". Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. 46 (1–2): 501–527. Bibcode:1999DSRII..46..501S. doi:10.1016/S0967-0645(98)00112-X.