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Northeast U.S. Ecosystem Indicator Catalog

42 Gulf Stream Index

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 [68].

Indicator family:

Contributor(s): Zhuomin Chen

Affiliations: ?

42.1 Introduction to 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 [69,70].

42.2 Key Results and Visualizations

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

42.2.1 MidAtlantic

42.2.2 NewEngland 

#> [1] "This indicator is only present in the `MidAtlantic` report"
#> [1] "This indicator is only present in the `MidAtlantic` report"

42.3 Indicator statistics

Spatial scale: Gulf Stream between 74°W and 55°W

Temporal scale: Monthly from 1954 to 2022

Synthesis Theme:

42.4 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 [71]). 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 [72], and a higher proportion of Warm Slope Water has been present in the Gulf of Maine Northeast Channel [73], 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 [74]

42.5 Get the data

Point of contact:

ecodata name: ecodata::gsi

Variable definitions

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

Indicator Category:

42.6 Public Availability

Source data are publicly available.

42.7 Accessibility and Constraints

No response

tech-doc link https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/gsi.html

References

68.
Joyce TM, Kwon Y-O, Yu L. On the Relationship between Synoptic Wintertime Atmospheric Variability and Path Shifts in the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio Extension. Journal of Climate. 2009;22: 3177–3192. doi:10.1175/2008JCLI2690.1
69.
Joyce TM, Kwon Y-O, Seo H, Ummenhofer CC. Meridional Gulf Stream Shifts Can Influence Wintertime Variability in the North Atlantic Storm Track and Greenland Blocking. Geophysical Research Letters. 2019;46: 1702–1708. doi:10.1029/2018GL081087
70.
Chi L, Wolfe CLP, Hameed S. The Distinction Between the Gulf Stream and Its North Wall. Geophysical Research Letters. 2019;46: 8943–8951. doi:10.1029/2019GL083775
71.
Nye JA, Joyce TM, Kwon Y-O, Link JS. Gulf Stream position determines spatial distribution of silver hake. Nature Communications. 2011;2. doi:10.1038/ncomms1420
72.
Zhang R, Vallis GK. The Role of Bottom Vortex Stretching on the Path of the North Atlantic Western Boundary Current and on the Northern Recirculation Gyre. Journal of Physical Oceanography. 2007;37: 2053–2080. doi:10.1175/JPO3102.1
73.
Goddard PB, Yin J, Griffies SM, Zhang S. An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010. Nature Communications. 2015;6. doi:10.1038/ncomms7346
74.
Gonçalves Neto A, Langan JA, Palter JB. Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf. Communications Earth & Environment. 2021;2: 1–10. doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5