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1. Diatom Hotspots Driven by Western Boundary Current Instability

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091943  

   Oliver, Hilde; Zhang, Weifeng G.; Smith, Jr., Walker O.; Alatalo, Philip; Chappell, P. Dreux; Hirzel, Andrew J.; Selden, Corday R.; Sosik, Heidi M.; Stanley, Rachel H. R.; Zhu, Yifan; et al (June 2021, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract Climatic changes have decreased the stability of the Gulf Stream (GS), increasing the frequency at which its meanders interact with the Mid‐Atlantic Bight (MAB) continental shelf and slope region. These intrusions are thought to suppress biological productivity by transporting low‐nutrient water to the otherwise productive shelf edge region. Here we present evidence of widespread, anomalously intense subsurface diatom hotspots in the MAB slope sea that likely resulted from a GS intrusion in July 2019. The hotspots (at ∼50 m) were associated with water mass properties characteristic of GS water (∼100 m); it is probable that the hotspots resulted from the upwelling of GS water during its transport into the slope sea, likely by a GS meander directly intruding onto the continental slope east of where the hotspots were observed. Further work is required to unravel how increasingly frequent direct GS intrusions could influence MAB marine ecosystems. 

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2. (2024) Coastal Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight Western Shallow Water Mooring (CP12WESW)

   https://doi.org/10.58046/ooi-cp12wesw  

   NSF_Ocean_Observatories_Initiative (January 2024, US NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative)

   The Pioneer MAB Western Shallow Water Mooring is located on the Continental Shelf, approximately 25 meters deep. The MAB continental shelf north of Cape Hatteras is characterized by a persistent equator-ward current originating from the north, a shelfbreak front separating shelf and slope waters, distributed buoyancy inputs from rivers, variable wind forcing, and intermittent offshore forcing by Gulf Stream meanders. The Pioneer MAB Array is designed to resolve transport processes and ecosystem dynamics in the vicinity of the shelfbreak front, which is a region of complex oceanographic dynamics, intermittent mesoscale variability, and enhanced biological productivity.\nLike other moorings, the Pioneer MAB Western Shallow Water Mooring is specifically designed to examine coastal-scale phenomena and withstand the challenging conditions of shallow coastal environments. The Shallow Water Mooring contains instruments attached to a Surface Buoy floating on the sea surface, the wave-powered Wire Following Profiler (Prawler), and a Multi-Function Node (MFN) located on the seafloor. The Prawler and the MFN instruments communicate with the Surface Buoy through the inductive riser wire. Additionally, the Surface Buoy contains antennas to transmit data to shore via satellite. 

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3. (2024) Coastal Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight Central Shallow Water Mooring (CP12CNSW)

   https://doi.org/10.58046/ooi-cp12cnsw  

   NSF_Ocean_Observatories_Initiative (January 2024, US NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative)

   The Pioneer MAB Central Shallow Water Mooring is located on the Continental Shelf, approximately 30 meters deep. The MAB continental shelf north of Cape Hatteras is characterized by a persistent equator-ward current originating from the north, a shelfbreak front separating shelf and slope waters, distributed buoyancy inputs from rivers, variable wind forcing, and intermittent offshore forcing by Gulf Stream meanders. The Pioneer MAB Array is designed to resolve transport processes and ecosystem dynamics in the vicinity of the shelfbreak front, which is a region of complex oceanographic dynamics, intermittent mesoscale variability, and enhanced biological productivity.\nLike other moorings, the Pioneer MAB Central Shallow Water Mooring is specifically designed to examine coastal-scale phenomena and withstand the challenging conditions of shallow coastal environments. The Shallow Water Mooring contains instruments attached to a Surface Buoy floating on the sea surface, the wave-powered Wire Following Profiler (Prawler), and a Multi-Function Node (MFN) located on the seafloor. The Prawler and the MFN instruments communicate with the Surface Buoy through the inductive riser wire. Additionally, the Surface Buoy contains antennas to transmit data to shore via satellite. 

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4. Increased gulf stream warm core ring formations contributes to an observed increase in salinity maximum intrusions on the Northeast Shelf

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34494-0  

   Silver, Adrienne; Gangopadhyay, Avijit; Gawarkiewicz, Glen; Fratantoni, Paula; Clark, Jenifer (May 2023, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract We present observational evidence of a significant increase in Salinity Maximum intrusions in the Northeast US Shelf waters in the years following 2000. This increase is subsequent to and influenced by a previously observed regime-shift in the annual formation rate for Gulf Stream Warm Core Rings, which are relatively more saline than the shelf waters. Specifically, mid-depth salinity maximum intrusions, a cross-shelf exchange process, has shown a quadrupling in frequency on the shelf after the year 2000. This increase in intrusion frequency can be linked to a similar increase in Warm Core Ring occupancy footprint along the offshore edge of the shelf-break which has greatly increased the abundance of warm salty water within the Slope Sea. The increased ring occupancy footprint along the shelf follows from the near doubling in annual Warm Core Ring formation rate from the Gulf Stream. The increased occurrence of intrusions is likely driven by a combination of a larger number of rings in the slope sea and the northward shift in the GS position which may lead to more interactions between rings and the shelf topography. These results have significant implications for interpreting temporal changes in the shelf ecosystem from the standpoint of both larval recruitment as well as habitability for various important commercial species. 

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5. (2024) Coastal Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight Southern Surface Mooring (CP11SOSM)

   https://doi.org/10.58046/ooi-cp11sosm  

   NSF_Ocean_Observatories_Initiative (January 2024, US NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative)

   The Pioneer MAB Southern Surface Mooring is located on the Continental Shelf, approximately 100 meters deep. The MAB continental shelf north of Cape Hatteras is characterized by a persistent equator-ward current originating from the north, a shelfbreak front separating shelf and slope waters, distributed buoyancy inputs from rivers, variable wind forcing, and intermittent offshore forcing by Gulf Stream meanders. The Pioneer MAB Array is designed to resolve transport processes and ecosystem dynamics in the vicinity of the shelfbreak front, which is a region of complex oceanographic dynamics, intermittent mesoscale variability, and enhanced biological productivity.\nLike other coastal moorings, the Pioneer MAB Southern Surface Mooring is specifically designed to examine coastal-scale phenomena and withstand the challenging conditions of shallow coastal environments. The Surface Mooring contains instruments attached to a Surface Buoy floating on the sea surface, Near Surface Instrument Frame 7 meters below the surface, and a Seafloor Multi-Function Node (MFN) located on the seafloor. The Surface Buoy provides a platform on which to secure surface instruments above the sea surface, below the sea surface, and across the interface between. Additionally, the Surface Buoy contains antennas to transmit data to shore via satellite. 

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