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Nosing Onto the Shelf

Gliders released off the coast of Massachusetts have helped scientists understand a previously unknown process by which warm Gulf Stream water and colder waters exchange in the economically important waters of the continental shelf. Rotating warm core rings form in the deep ocean and eventually pinch off from the Gulf Stream. The outer limbs of the rings hit the continental slope and are squeezed by the rising sea floor. They continue to move, following the seafloor contour and elongating to form the long nose shape. Eventually, the extension stops, and thin filaments coming out of the north side of the nose penetrate further onto the shelf. (Illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)