AMUSE - A Mediterranean Undercurrent Seeding Experiment
AMUSE is an acronym for the Mediterranean Undercurrent Seeding Experiment, an experiment which occurred from 1993–1995, whose overall objective was to observe directly the spreading pathways by which Mediterranean Water enters the North Atlantic, including the direct observation of Mediterranean eddies, also termed meddies.
The measurements included repeated high resolution XBT section and RAFOS float deployments across the Mediterranean Undercurrent south of Portugal near 8.5 degrees W.
Experiment Protocol
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A total of 49 floats were deployed at the rate of about two floats per week on 23 cruises of the Portuguese vessel Kialoa II and one cruise of the R/V Endeavor. The floats were ballasted for 1100 or 1200 decibars to seed the lower salinity core of the Undercurrent. The objectives of the float study were to:
- Identify where meddies form;
- Make the first direct estimate of meddy formation frequency;
- Estimate the fraction of time meddies are being formed; and
- Determine the pathways by which Mediterranean Water which is not trapped in meddies enters the North Atlantic.
Further Reading
- Seas of the world on the Encyclopedia of Earth
- Physical Oceanography Index
- A Mediterranean Undercurrent Seeding Experiment (AMUSE): Part ΙΙ: RAFOS Float Data Report May 1993 - March 1995 by Heather D. Hunt, Christine M. Wooding, Cynthia L. Chandler, and Amy S. Bower June 1998
