MAB-SWOT

The Slope Sea and the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), in the Northwest Atlantic east of Cape Hatteras, NC, are sites of strong mesoscale and submescale variability in physical and biogeochemical properties. This is where the Gulf Stream separates from the continental slope as it passes over the Deep Western Boundary Current. This is also one of the few "crossover" regions where NASA's new Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will provide unprecedented twice-daily coverage for a short period during the satellite's 90-day duration calibration/validation. The SWOT US East Coast crossover region will observe the Gulf Stream precisely where it separates from the continental slope. The MAB-SWOT campaign has three main objectives: observing the Gulf Stream mesoscale (meander) and submesoscale (frontal eddy) variability; measuring the MAB shelf-break front and shelf-deep ocean exchange; assess the validity/usefulness of SWOT velocity for coastal-scale features and interpreting biophysical interactions. To do this, a combination of high-frequency radar, glider, current- and pressure-sensor equipped inverted echo sounders (CPIESs), and ship-based biogeochemical sampling during the cal/val period are planned and will provide independent observations for comparison with SWOT altimetry. The combination of different types of in situ observations with SWOT remote observations will provide an unprecedented depiction of mesoscale and submesoscale variability in this very dynamic region of the Northwest Atlantic. This cruise will serve as the deployment cruise for 6 CPIESs so they are in the water during (and beyond) the SWOT cal/val period.