Study Finds 150-Km Eddies Carry Congo River Freshwater 200 Km Into Atlantic
Updated
Updated · ZME Science · Jul 2
Study Finds 150-Km Eddies Carry Congo River Freshwater 200 Km Into Atlantic
2 articles · Updated · ZME Science · Jul 2
Summary
A 2016 mesoscale eddy trapped Congo River plume water for 49 days and carried low-salinity water about 200 kilometers offshore before dissipating.
Using a 3-kilometer NEMO ocean model plus PIRATA, satellite and ship-tracking data, Cardot et al. showed these episodic eddies—not steady diffusion—dominate offshore freshwater transport.
The Congo, which discharges about 40,000 cubic meters per second, creates a freshwater plume stretching roughly 800 kilometers offshore and shifting southwest in the wet season, where eddies can capture it.
Backtracking more than 5,000 virtual particles linked water in the April eddy core to the southern Congo plume in March, underscoring implications for regional circulation, ecosystems and fisheries.