Flow variability along the Sub-Antarctic Front, southeast of New Zealand

A current meter array deployed across the Subantarctic Front in 1998, shows a strong but variable flow along the south-east flank of the Campbell Plateau. A major component of the variability arises from eddies propagating through the region. One such event was modelled using an idealised geostrophic-balanced, cold-core eddy. The simulation reproduces the main features observed in the current meter records and the surface topography from the Topex/ Poseidon altimeter. This result allows a first assessment of eddy frequency in the region to be made from the 6 years of Topex/ Poseidon altimetric data.