Satellite observations of eddies in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean during 1993 and 1994

This paper investigates the eddies (rings) found in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean in 1993 and 1994 as observed by high-resolution AVHRR sea surface temperature images of the region. The investigation of the eddies is made according to their characteristic sizes and relation to the local internal Rossby radius of deformation. In the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, most of the reported eddy activity is related to the Brazil- Malvinas Confluence region. This paper, however, also describes eddies located at the South Brazilian Continental Shelf where very few references are currently available. Some of the eddies present in the South Brazilian Continental Shelf are similar to shelfbreak eddies described for other parts of the World Ocean. In the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence region, cold core eddies are formed by breaking off from the crests of high amplitude meanders of the South Atlantic Current. Warm core eddies are present at the Brazil Current reversal flow region and at the troughs of the South Atlantic Current in the confluence. The characterization of the eddies in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean is important task for better understanding the processes of across-front transport of properties between the Tropical and Subantarctic environments which can control much of the environmental and climatic processes occurring in the region.