Partial control of the Gulf of Mexico dynamics by the current feedback to the atmosphere

The feedback of ocean surface currents to the atmosphere (CFB) has been shown to correct long-lasting biases in the representation of ocean dynamics by providing an unambiguous energy sink mechanism. However, CFB effects on the Gulf of Mexico oceanic circulation, mainly dominated by the Loop Current and large anticyclonic eddies that shed from it), remain unknown. Here, twin ocean-atmosphere eddy-rich coupled simulations, with and without CFB, are performed over 24 years (1993-2016) to assess to which extent CFB modulates the dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico. We show that CFB damps the mesoscale activity by roughly 20% over the Gulf of Mexico through the eddy killing mechanism and the associated transfer of momentum from mesoscale currents to the atmosphere, but also by modifying the production of eddy kinetic energy via barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. This energy adjustment results in increasing the mean Loop Current penetration into the Gulf of Mexico and plays a key role in determining the shedding of Loop Current Eddy and their subsequent preferential trajectories and properties.