{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T10:15:53Z","timestamp":1773310553171,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,25]],"date-time":"2022-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1661385600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000209","name":"US National Academy of Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2000010488"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2000010488"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000209","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The three-dimensional structure of Gulf of Mexico\u2019s warm-core rings, detaching from the Loop Current, is investigated using satellite altimetry and a large set of ARGO float profiles. Reconstruction of the Loop Current rings (LCRs) vertical structure from sea surface height observations is made possible by the use of the gravest empirical modes method (GEM). The GEMs are transfer functions that associate a value of temperature and salinity for each variable pair {dynamic height; pressure}, and are computed by estimating an empirical relationship between dynamic height and the vertical thermohaline structure of the ocean. Between 1993 and 2021, 40 LCRs were detected in the altimetry and their three-dimensional thermohaline structure was reconstructed, as well as a number of dynamically relevant variables (geostrophic and cyclogeostrophic velocity, relative vorticity, potential vorticity, available potential energy and kinetic energy density, etc.). The structure of a typical LCR was computed by fitting an analytical stream function to the LCRs dynamic height signature and reconstructing its vertical structure with the GEM. The total heat and salt contents and energy of each LCR were computed and their cumulative effect on the Gulf of Mexico\u2019s heat, salt and energy balance is discussed. We show that LCRs have a dramatic impact on these balances and estimate that residual surface heat fluxes of \u221213 W m\u22122 are necessary to compensate their heat input, while the fresh water outflow of the Mississippi river approximately compensates for their salt excess input. An average energy dissipation of O [10\u221210\u201310\u22129] W kg\u22121 would be necessary to balance their energy input.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14174174","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,26]],"date-time":"2022-08-26T02:04:32Z","timestamp":1661479472000},"page":"4174","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Reconstructing the Three-Dimensional Structure of Loop Current Rings from Satellite Altimetry and In Situ Data Using the Gravest Empirical Modes Method"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9465-0113","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Meunier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"P\u00e9rez-Brunius","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada 22860, Mexico"}]},{"given":"Amy","family":"Bower","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/0198-0149(86)90106-8","article-title":"Rings of the Agulhas current","volume":"33","author":"Olson","year":"1986","journal-title":"Deep Sea Res. 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