Figure 4

Spatial structure of the abyssal current in the Vema Channel. Distribution of along-channel measured LADCP velocity (a, c) and corresponding sea level anomalies (b, d) based on satellite altimetry. Two modes of the abyssal flow are presented: fast abyssal flow observed on April 4, 2017 (a, b), and moderate flow measured on October, 26 (c, d). The maximum measured velocities in these cases are 52 cm/s and 28 cm/s, respectively. Gray squares in panels (b, d) 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 m are shown by solid gray coloring in panels (b, d). In panels (a, c) bottom topography profile along the section is shown based on the Kongsberg EA600 echosounder survey. The maps were generated using Golden Software Surfer version 18.1.186 (https://www.goldensoftware.com/products/surfer/).