(a)
(b) 
(c) 
(a) Eddies in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of North America. The picture shows sea surface temperature, red is warm and blue is cold.
(b) hurricane Ava
(c) the great red spot on Jupiter
The ocean circulation is asymmetrical, consisting of intense western
boundary currents such as the Gulf Stream and broader, weaker recirculating
flows in the centres of ocean basins.
These boundary currents are important in moving heat polewards.
Meandering boundary currents spawn warm and cold eddies which are analogous to weather systems in the Earth's atmosphere, and features observed in the atmospheres of other planets, such as the great red spot on Jupiter.
Our research has been looking at how eddies transfer tracers.
They systematically transport tracers in a similar manner to how a stick
bobbing up and down on the sea is slowly transported by the waves.
Examples of eddies
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a) Eddies in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of North America.
The picture shows sea surface temperature, red is warm and blue
is cold.
(b) hurricane Ava
(c) the great red spot on Jupiter