North Atlantic Current Time Series from Satellite and Float Observations

The North Atlantic Current (NAC) is the continuation of the Gulf Stream on its path towards Europe. Here, a time series of its strength is reported that is calculated from two observational datasets: One is the sea surface height from satellite altimetry, the other consists of watercolumn temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats. The NAC flow is given as the total volume transport of water in a depth layer defined by pressure ranges of 0 - 1000 dbar, across a section that spans from a site in the Central Irminger Sea (CIS) to another in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) area. Uncertainty estimates of the flow are included, as is a proxy time series of longer duration that is estimated from satellite data alone. The methodology is described in a publication by Lankhorst and Send (Progress in Oceanography, 2020); the data here represent an updated version of what is shown in figure 6a of this publication.