Dissolved oxygen fluxes in frontal eddy systems along the Gulf Stream

Oceanic dissolved oxygen (O₂) is a fundamental biogeochemical parameter that is affected by changes in nutrient cycles. In this study, measurements were made from repeat O₂ sections across the Gulf Stream and the continental shelf off the eastern coast of the United States from the ECOA-1 cruise in July, 2015. Here, results from this occupation are compared with observations of O₂ from two other cruises following a similar track in 2007 (GOMECC-1) and 2012 (GOMECC-2) in order to describe the oxygen distribution in these boundary regions and to consider the biogeochemical fluxes in these waters. Past estimates have been made for the transports of nutrients, in particular nitrate, in correlation with water temperature along the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) via the upwelling in frontal cold core eddies in the Gulf Stream. Using the same approach, the net flux in dissolved oxygen and percent saturation is calculated across the Gulf Stream cyclonic front by extrapolating Reynolds fluxes across the shelf edge. It is important to assess the physical dynamics behind exchange of dissolved oxygen along the eastern continental shelf ecosystems as a background for understanding biogeochemical fluxes in these systems.