Convective structures in the Lofoten Basin based on satellite and Argo data

Abstract

We discuss the possibility of detecting deep convection in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea based on the eddy structures revealed from the satellite data. Satellite altimetry, SAR imagery, and MODIS satellite spectral radiometer sea-surface temperature (SST) data are used in the analysis, along with the data of oceanographic Argo floats. It is shown that the eddies identified from the satellite data correspond to the convective cells in the same region according to the data of the Argo floats. We consider several examples of the summer eddy and one winter eddy and the corresponding structures in the ocean measured by the Argo floats when they were located close to the identified eddies. As this method develops and improves, it can be used for the analysis of the dynamic of oceanic eddies in the region of the Lofoten Basin, and possibly in other regions with active deep convection.