A case of an intense anticyclonic eddy in the Balearic sea studied from satellite and in situ data

Sea surface topography from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS satellites, SST images derived from advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sensors, and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data collected during an oceanographic survey are examined to investigate an intense mesoscale anticyclonic eddy observed at the northern boundary of the Balearic Sea (western Mediterranean). This eddy, which constitutes the strongest signal detected in the Balearic basin since altimetric data are available, appeared in September 1998 to the northwest of Menorca Island and remained almost in the same location until its disappearance in March 1999. The paper focuses mainly on identifying the conditions that led to the eddy formation and on the description of its evolution and sudden disappearance. Derived variables such as geostrophic velocity or vorticity are computed to complement the hydrographic and dynamical information provided by observed variables. Also, meteorological data are examined related to the main hypothesis made for the origin of the eddy.