Figure 1.

(A) Schematic diagram [courtesy of Jack Cook/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Graphics] of the Mediterranean outflow current along the Iberian continental slope [isobaths (in meters) dashed], and the intermittent detachment of “meddies” at a depth of ≈1 km. These relatively salty and warm eddies lie above denser water in the Atlantic Ocean. The XBT line of temperature measurements. (B) A vertical cross section (courtesy of Amy Bower/WHOI) of salinity isolines (a) (looking into the stream) and corresponding density isolines (b), which qualitatively indicate the high salinity (>36 parts per thousand) outflow and the gravitationally stable density field (increasing downwards). One dbar = 10⁴ Pa. (C) Long time trajectories of neutral floats (courtesy of Amy Bower/WHOI) placed in the high-salinity core (B). Some floats occasionally detach from the main core and rotate clockwise in the anticyclonic meddies, while the remainder of the jet continues along the isobaths. Eventually all of the high-salinity core is “detrained” and replaced by Atlantic water.