The first mixed layer depth climatology over the Northeast U.S. continental shelf

The Northeast U.S. continental shelf hosts some of the worlds’ most productive fisheries.. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

A new study, funded in part by CPO’s Climate Variability & Predictability (CVP) and Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) programs, is the first to construct a detailed description of the ocean mixed layer depth and its seasonal cycle for the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. 

The Northeast U.S. continental shelf is home to some of the worlds’ most productive and commercially valuable fisheries. Characterized by the contrast of the warm, northward-flowing Gulf Stream and the cold, southward-flowing Labrador Current converging together, the region has been significantly impacted by the changing climate, with a consistent rate of warming and notable extreme warming events known as marine heat waves. New research, published in Continental Shelf Research, from scientists at Northwestern University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and NOAA Fisheries, is focused on a key factor that determines the amount of warming experienced in the upper ocean -- mixed layer depth (MLD).

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