# Stability of the Malvinas Current

## TL;DR

This study combines deterministic and probabilistic nonlinear dynamics tools to analyze the Malvinas Current, revealing a resilient transport barrier composed of shearless-parabolic Lagrangian coherent structures and identifying flow regions with weak communication.

## Contribution

First detection of shearless-parabolic LCS in the Malvinas Current from altimetry data, supported by satellite ocean color and in-situ data, linking Lagrangian and Eulerian stability.

## Key findings

- Identification of a resilient cross-stream transport barrier.
- Detection of shearless-parabolic LCS from altimetry data.
- Flow regions with weak communication on either side of the barrier.

## Abstract

Deterministic and probabilistic tools from nonlinear dynamics are used to assess enduring near-surface Lagrangian aspects of the Malvinas Current. The deterministic tools are applied on a multi-year record of velocities derived from satellite altimetry data, revealing a resilient cross-stream transport barrier. This is composed of shearless-parabolic Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS), which, extracted over sliding time windows along the multi-year altimetry-derived velocity record, lie in near coincidental position. The probabilistic tools are applied on a large collection of historical satellite-tracked drifter trajectories, revealing weakly communicating flow regions on either side of the altimetry-derived barrier. Shearless-parabolic LCS are detected for the first time from altimetry data, and their significance is supported on satellite-derived ocean color data, which reveal shapes that quite closely resemble the peculiar V shapes, dubbed `chevrons,' that have recently confirmed the presence of similar LCS in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Finally, using in-situ velocity and hydrographic data, conditions for symmetric stability are found to be satisfied, suggesting a duality between Lagrangian and Eulerian stability for the Malvinas Current.