Satellite observations of the Texas Current

The Texas Current is a transient, nearshore element of shelf circulation in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico that can arise and be modified in response to riverine, estuarine, oceanic and atmospheric forcing. Nearly a 600 km reach along the inner Texas shelf is affected by the Current's physical processes. AVHRR imagery and satellite-tracked drifters provide observations of Texas Current realizations. Analyses relate each forcing mechanism with recurrent coastal flow patterns. The Current's response and the evolution of associated spatial and temporal variability imply its potential as a primary agent for advective redistribution and turbulent mixing on the inner shelf.