We carry out assessments of the life cycle of Loop Current vortices, so-called rings, in the
Gulf of Mexico by applying three objective (ie, observer-independent) coherent Lagrangian
vortex detection methods on velocities derived from satellite altimetry measurements of the
sea-surface height (SSH). The methods reveal material vortices with boundaries that
withstand stretching or diffusion or whose fluid elements rotate evenly. This involved a
technology advance that enables framing vortex genesis and apocalypse robustly and with …