Eddy development and motion in the Caribbean Sea

Eddy motion in the Caribbean Sea is described on the basis of sea level anomalies deduced from ERS-1 altimetry data corrected with TOPEX/Poseidon data during the 15 months of the Exact Repeat Mission (October 1992 to December 1993). Both cyclones and anticyclones were observed in the satellite data as anomalies originating in the Venezuelan Basin or entering the Caribbean through the Antillean passages, mainly the St. Lucia Channel, Anegada Passage, and north of Trinidad. The diameter of the eddies ranged from a few tens of kilometers to 700 km. Advection speeds were typically 20-30 cm s(-1) and the eddies were energetic (kinetic energy > 0.6 m(2) s(-2)). Their lifetime of 3-4 months was determined, in general, by their interaction with topography. Most eddy activity was eroded and disappeared at the Central American Rise area, although a few eddies crossed into the Cayman Sea through the Chibcha Channel. Some eddies also entered the Cayman Sea from outside the Caribbean through the Windward Passage. The Panama-Colombia Gyre was evident only during the tropical rainy season. A large cyclonic eddy was formed there during the period of maximum precipitation, when strong meridional salinity and wind speed gradients occurred. Eddy production in the central Caribbean appears to be associated with the interaction of the meandering Caribbean Current and the strong wind curl.