Monitoring the effects of gulf stream meanders and eddys on the New England fishing grounds

Infrared imagery from satellites has been widely applied for tracking Gulf Stream meanders and eddies and determining their effects on surrounding waters. Because these oceanographic features are a major source of environmental variability in the Slope Water region adjacent to the continental shelf of New England and the Middle Atlantic States, the National Marine Fisheries Service has started a program to monitor their effects on the fishing grounds. Known effects are direct warming of the bottom on the outer shelf and upper slope, injection of warm water onto the shelf, entrainment of water off the shelf, and increases in currents. Because satellite imagery is limited to the sea surface, effective monitoring often requires concurrent shipboard observations of subsurface conditions.