CURRENT - DIRECTION and Other Data from FIXED STATIONS From North Atlantic Ocean and Others from 1987-10-16 to 1990-06-16 (NCEI Accession 9400108)

[From the May 1990 report, data/0-data/88-89/report89.txt] The SYNoptic Ocean Prediction experiment (SYNOP) was undertaken with the goal that increased understanding of the Gulf Stream obtained through coordinated observations could be integrated with numerical models, including predictive models of the Gulf Stream. Our moored experiment, which began in fall of 1987, consists of two separate arrays in the Gulf Stream as part of the SYNOP program. The "Inlet" array of inverted echo sounders (IES) and deep current meters measure key parameters that describe the variability of the Gulf Stream and deep western boundary current (DWBC) near Cape Hatteras. In this region the Gulf Stream first flows into deeper water and crosses over the DWBC. The "Central" array of IESs, in a 350 km square centered on the Gulf Stream near 68 W, monitors the thermocline structure of the Gulf Stream in the region of large meanders and frequent interactions with rings. The array also contains twelve tall current meter moorings, that reach into the Gulf Stream core. Additionally most of the IESs in the interior of the array are outfitted with bottom pressure recorders (PIES).