A seasonal signal in ocean currents to abyssal depths

Long-term (9–32 month) current meter records from the eastern North Atlantic (41°N–59°N) suggest that, remote from the influence of the Western Boundary Current, eddy kinetic energy (KE) at all depths is principally a function of wind stress and stratification, generated during the winter and early spring, propagating to abyssal depths and decaying to a minimum in late summer. Although this seasonal variation in KEhas not previously been described from the midlatitude ocean, some theoretical basis for it is presented.