A young lens of Red Sea Water in the Arabian Sea

Abstract

CTD data collected in March-April 1980 in the Arabian Sea during the 22nd cruise of R.V. Akademik Vernadsky were used to investigate the structure and dynamics of a young lens of Red Sea Water (Reddy) in the initial stage of its formation. The core of the young lens with maximum temperature of 11.07°C and maximum salinity of 35.56 was located at depths of 640-830 m, and had temperature and salinity anomalies of 0.75°C and 0 22 with respect to the background water. The lens core, of thickness of 190 m, was connected to the main Red Sea Water tongue by a thin layer with vertical extent of about 20 m. In contrast to Meddles frequently observed in the North Atlantic, the density anomaly of the Reddy did not exceed 0.04 kg m-3. A trajectory of the lens movement was reconstructed. The dynamic impact of a deep-reaching cyclonic meander on the large-scale tongue of Red Sea Water resulted in the Reddy formation near 16°N, 61°E and its subsequent movement to the south over a distance of about 370 km.