Figure 3

Blocking events in the Vema Channel. Velocity time series based on moored measurements at 4300 m and 4500 m depth are shown in the upper panel. Bottom panels show SLA distributions at several dates: October 8, 2004 (a), March 15, 2005 (b), August 31, 2006 (c), December 28, 2006 (d), and February 14, 2007 (e). These maps correspond to the short time periods when the abyssal currents are either slow (a, c, d) or fast (b, e). Gray squares indicate the area of high (more than 0.6) correlation between the abyssal velocity and SLA data. The white diamond in the bottom panels indicates the location of mooring. Ocean depths shallower than 4500 are shown by solid gray coloring. The maps were generated using Golden Software Surfer version 18.1.186 (https://www.goldensoftware.com/products/surfer/).