Internal wave-wave interaction theories and observations support a parameterization for the turbulent dissipation rate and eddy diffusivity K that depends on internal wave shear ͗V z 2 ͘ and strain ͗ z 2 ͘ variances. Its latest incarnation is applied to about 3500 lowered ADCP/CTD profiles from the Indian, Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. Inferred diffusivities K are functions of latitude and depth, ranging from 0.03 ϫ 10 Ϫ4 m 2 s Ϫ1 within 2°of the equator to (0.4-0.5) ϫ 10 Ϫ4 m 2 s Ϫ1 at 50°-70°. Diffusivities K also increase with depth in tropical and subtropical waters. Diffusivities below 4500-m depth exhibit a peak of 0.7 ϫ 10 Ϫ4 m 2 s Ϫ1 between 20°and 30°, latitudes where semidiurnal parametric subharmonic instability is expected to be active. Turbulence is highly heterogeneous. Though the bulk of the vertically integrated dissipation ͐ is contributed from the main pycnocline, hotspots in ͐ show some correlation with small-scale bottom roughness and near-bottom flow at sites where strong surface tidal dissipation resulting from tide-topography interactions has been implicated. Average vertically integrated dissipation rates are 1.0 mW m Ϫ2 , lying closer to the 0.8 mW m Ϫ2 expected for a canonical (Garrett and Munk) internal wave spectrum than the global-averaged deep-ocean surface tide loss of 3.3 mW m Ϫ2 .

This study discusses the upper-ocean (0-200 m) horizontal wavenumber spectra in the Drake Passage from 13 yr of shipboard ADCP measurements, altimeter data, and a high-resolution numerical simulation. At scales between 10 and 200 km, the ADCP kinetic energy spectra approximately follow a k 23 power law. The observed flows are more energetic at the surface, but the shape of the kinetic energy spectra is independent of depth. These characteristics resemble predictions of isotropic interior quasigeostrophic turbulence. The ratio of across-track to along-track kinetic energy spectra, however, significantly departs from the expectation of isotropic interior quasigeostrophic turbulence. The inconsistency is dramatic at scales smaller than 40 km. A Helmholtz decomposition of the ADCP spectra and analyses of synthetic and numerical model data show that horizontally divergent, ageostrophic flows account for the discrepancy between the observed spectra and predictions of isotropic interior quasigeostrophic turbulence. In Drake Passage, ageostrophic motions appear to be dominated by inertia-gravity waves and account for about half of the near-surface kinetic energy at scales between 10 and 40 km. Model results indicate that ageostrophic flows imprint on the sea surface, accounting for about half of the sea surface height variance between 10 and 40 km.

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is an important component of the global climate system connecting the major ocean basins as it flows eastward around Antarctica, yet due to the paucity of data, it remains unclear how much water is transported by the current. Between 2007 and 2011 flow through Drake Passage was continuously monitored with a line of moored instrumentation with unprecedented horizontal and temporal resolution. Annual mean near‐bottom currents are remarkably stable from year to year. The mean depth‐independent or barotropic transport, determined from the near‐bottom current meter records, was 45.6 sverdrup (Sv) with an uncertainty of 8.9 Sv. Summing the mean barotropic transport with the mean baroclinic transport relative to zero at the seafloor of 127.7 Sv gives a total transport through Drake Passage of 173.3 Sv. This new measurement is 30% larger than the canonical value often used as the benchmark for global circulation and climate models.

Recent studies show that the vigorous seasonal cycle of the mixed layer modulates upper ocean submesoscale turbulence. Here we provide model‐based evidence that the seasonally changing upper ocean stratification in the Kuroshio Extension also modulates submesoscale (here 10–100 km) inertia‐gravity waves. Summertime restratification weakens submesoscale turbulence but enhances inertia‐gravity waves near the surface. Thus, submesoscale turbulence and inertia‐gravity waves undergo vigorous out‐of‐phase seasonal cycles. These results imply a strong seasonal modulation of the accuracy of geostrophic velocity diagnosed from submesoscale sea surface height delivered by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission.

International audienceDrake Passage is the narrowest constriction of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the Southern Ocean, with implications for global ocean circulation and climate. We review the long-term sustained monitoring programs that have been conducted at Drake Passage, dating back to the early part of the twentieth century. Attention is drawn to numerous breakthroughs that have been made from these programs, including (1) the first determinations of the complex ACC structure and early quantifications of its transport; (2) realization that the ACC transport is remarkably steady over interannual and longer periods, and a growing understanding of the processes responsible for this; (3) recognition of the role of coupled climate modes in dictating the horizontal transport and the role of anthropogenic processes in this; and (4) understanding of mechanisms driving changes in both the upper and lower limbs of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation and their impacts. It is argued that monitoring of this passage remains a high priority for oceanographic and climate research but that strategic improvements could be made concerning how this is conducted. In particular, long-term programs should concentrate on delivering quantifications of key variables of direct relevance to large-scale environmental issues: In this context, the time-varying overturning circulation is, if anything, even more compelling a target than the ACC flow. Further, there is a need for better international resource sharing and improved spatiotemporal coordination of the measurements. If achieved, the improvements in understanding of important climatic issues deriving from Drake Passage monitoring can be sustained into the future

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[1] The structure of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in Drake Passage is examined using 4.5 years of shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) velocity data. The extended 1000 m depth range available from the 38 kHz ADCP allows us to investigate the vertical structure of the current. The mean observed current varies slowly with depth, while eddy kinetic energy and shear variance exhibit strong depth dependence. Objectively mapped streamlines are self-similar with depth, consistent with an equivalent barotropic structure. Vertical wavenumber spectra of observed currents and current shear reveal intermediate wavenumber anisotropy and rotation indicative of downward energy propagation above 500 m and upward propagation below 500 m. The mean observed transport of the ACC in the upper 1000 m is estimated at 95 ± 2 Sv or 71% of the canonical total transport of 134 Sv. Mean current speeds in the ACC jets remain quite strong at 1000 m, 10-20 cm s −1 . Vertical structure functions to describe the current and extrapolate below 1000 m are explored with the aid of full-depth profiles from lowered ADCP and a 3 year mean from the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE). A number of functions, including an exponential, are nearly equally good fits to the observations, explaining >75% of the variance. Fits to an exponentially decaying function can be extrapolated to give an estimate of 154 ± 38 Sv for the full-depth transport.