WBTS - FLS 27N 4 of 6

Researchers from NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, FL, conduct regular bimonthly hydrographic surveys at 27N in the Florida Straits to monitor the transport and water-mass properties of the Florida Current. The Florida Current is part of the Gulf Stream system, which is the upper limb of the western boundary current system in the North Atlantic Ocean. These cruises are a part of the laboratory’s long-running Western Boundary Time Series (WBTS) project and directly measure the Florida Current at nine locations across the Straits of Florida at 27N, between Jupiter, Florida, and the Little Bahama Bank in the Bahamas. WBTS 27N hydrographic sections, conducted bimonthly throughout the year, are critical to improving our understanding of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre circulation and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Importantly, data collected during these cruises and others are also used to calibrate the 27N submarine cable system which publicly provides daily transport estimates of the Florida Current . The AMOC is a significant factor in climate change, oceanic carbon sequestration, and sustainable fisheries. In addition to the direct ship-based measurements conducted during WBTS 27N cruises, these surveys also support and service project moored instrumentation, located on either side of the Straits, which provide key times series data. These monitoring efforts are necessary for quantifying AMOC and gyre variability over time and for identifying decadal changes in the large-scale circulation, water-mass properties, and heat transport. The WBTS project is part of an international collaboration which partners include AOML’s WBTS, the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM/RSMAS) Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heat-flux Array (MOCHA) Program, and the UK National Oceanography Centre’s Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) Program.