Divergent pathways of cyclonic and anti‐cyclonic ocean eddies

Abstract

Satellite altimetry is used to study the propagation pathways of warm and cold ocean eddies in different ocean basins. We consider eddies that have a life span longer than 3 months, and we present three regional studies: in the southeast Indian, the southeast Atlantic, and the northeast Pacific Oceans. The case studies show that simple theories for vortex propagation on a β‐plane work in regions where energetic eddies propagate though a weak background flow. Under these conditions, anticyclonic/cyclonic eddies propagate westward and equatorward/poleward. This divergence in the eddy pathways implies a net equatorward eddy heat flux, and has implications for the meridional transport of freshwater, carbon, nutrients, etc.