Can the Surface Quasi‐Geostrophic (SQG) Theory Explain Upper Ocean Dynamics in the South Atlantic?

Miracca‐Lage, Mariana; González‐Haro, Cristina; Napolitano, Dante Campagnoli; Isern‐Fontanet, Jordi; Polito, P. S.

doi:10.1029/2021jc018001

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(217 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…2016, 2020; Miracca-Lage et al. 2022) as well as observational (González-Haro & Isern-Fontanet 2014) studies indicate that a significant fraction of the surface geostrophic velocity is induced by sea surface buoyancy anomalies. Surface buoyancy anomalies largely induce the surface geostrophic velocities over major subtropical currents (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Buoyancy anomalies at the ocean's surface are governed by the surface quasigeostrophic model (Isern-Fontanet et al 2006;LaCasce & Mahadevan 2006;. Both numerical (Isern-Fontanet et al 2008;Lapeyre 2009;Qiu et al 2016Qiu et al , 2020Miracca-Lage et al 2022) as well as observational (González-Haro & Isern-Fontanet 2014) studies indicate that a significant fraction of the surface geostrophic velocity is induced by sea surface buoyancy anomalies. Surface buoyancy anomalies largely induce the surface geostrophic velocities over major subtropical currents (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeostrophic turbulence

Yassin

2023

J. Fluid Mech.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Surface buoyancy gradients over a quasigeostrophic fluid permit the existence of surface-trapped Rossby waves. The interplay of these Rossby waves with surface quasigeostrophic turbulence results in latitudinally inhomogeneous mixing that, under certain conditions, culminates in a surface buoyancy staircase: a meridional buoyancy profile consisting of mixed zones punctuated by sharp buoyancy gradients, with eastward jets centred at the sharp gradients and weaker westward flows in between. In this article, we investigate the emergence of this buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeostrophic turbulence and we examine the dependence of the resulting dynamics on the vertical stratification. Over decreasing stratification ( $\mathrm {d}N(z)/\mathrm {d}z\leq 0$ , where $N(z)$ is the buoyancy frequency), we obtain flows with a longer interaction range (than in uniform stratification) and highly dispersive Rossby waves. In the staircase limit, we find straight jets that are perturbed by eastward propagating along jet waves, similar to two-dimensional barotropic $\beta$ -plane turbulence. In contrast, over increasing stratification ( $\mathrm {d}N(z)/\mathrm {d}z\geq 0$ ), we obtain flows with shorter interaction range and weakly dispersive Rossby waves. In the staircase limit, we find sinuous jets with large latitudinal meanders whose shape evolves in time due to the westward propagation of weakly dispersive along jet waves. These along jet waves have larger amplitudes over increasing stratification than over decreasing stratification, and, as a result, the ratio of domain-averaged zonal to meridional speeds is two to three times smaller over increasing stratification than over decreasing stratification. Finally, we find that, for a given Rhines wavenumber, jets over increasing stratification are closer together than jets over decreasing stratification.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeostrophic turbulence

Yassin

2023

J. Fluid Mech.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The validity of this approach was tested using infrared SST [48][49][50]; microwave [51,52]; and SSS [53] measurements. The main conclusion was that the SQG approach is better suited to reconstruct the ocean dynamics in the upper 500 m for energetic areas with deep mixed layer depths (MLD) [46,47,52,54,55]. Ref.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface and Interior Dynamics of Arctic Seas Using Surface Quasi-Geostrophic Approach

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study assesses the capability of Surface Quasi-Geostrophy (SQG) to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) dynamics in four critical areas of the Arctic Ocean: the Nordic, Barents, East Siberian, and Beaufort Seas. We first reconstruct the upper ocean dynamics from TOPAZ4 reanalysis of sea surface height (SSH), surface buoyancy (SSB), and surface velocities (SSV) and validate the results with the geostrophic and total TOPAZ4 velocities. The reconstruction of upper ocean dynamics using SSH fields is in high agreement with the geostrophic velocities, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.8 for the upper 400 m. SSH reconstructions outperform surface buoyancy reconstructions, even in places near freshwater inputs from river discharges, melting sea ice, and glaciers. Surface buoyancy fails due to the uncorrelation of SSB and subsurface potential vorticity (PV). Reconstruction from surface currents correlates to the total TOPAZ4 velocities with correlation coefficients greater than 0.6 up to 200 m. In the second part, we apply the SQG approach validated with the reanalysis outputs to satellite-derived sea level anomalies and validate the results against in-situ measurements. Due to lower water column stratification, the SQG approach’s performance is better in fall and winter than in spring and summer. Our results demonstrate that using surface information from SSH or surface velocities, combined with information on the stratification of the water column, it is possible to effectively reconstruct the upper ocean dynamics in the Arctic and Subarctic Seas up to 400 m. Future remote sensing missions in the Arctic Ocean, such as SWOT, Seastar, WaCM, CIMR, and CRISTAL, will produce enhanced SSH and surface velocity observations, allowing SQG schemes to characterize upper ocean 3D mesoscale dynamics up to 400 m with higher resolutions and lower uncertainties.

show abstract

“…It can depict the upper ocean dynamics for scales between 10 and 400 km (Isern‐Fontanet et al., 2008; Lapeyre & Klein, 2006). Over the past two decades, the SQG theory has been extensively explored within the oceanographic context (e.g., Chavanne & Klein, 2016; Z. Chen et al., 2020; González‐Haro & Isern‐Fontanet, 2014; Isern‐Fontanet et al., 2006, 2014; Klein et al., 2009; LaCasce, 2012; LaCasce & Mahadevan, 2006; LaCasce & Wang, 2015; L. Liu et al., 2014, 2017; Miracca‐Lage et al., 2022; Ponte & Klein, 2013; Ponte et al., 2013; Yan et al., 2020, 2021). Two reconstruction methods are developed based on the SQG theory: the “effective” SQG (eSQG) and the “interior plus surface QG” (isQG) methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Liu et al, 2014L. Liu et al, , 2017Miracca-Lage et al, 2022;Yan et al, 2020Yan et al, , 2021. Two reconstruction methods are developed based on the SQG theory: the "effective" SQG (eSQG) and the "interior plus surface QG" (isQG) methods.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Three‐Dimensional Structures of Eddy in the South Indian Ocean From the Satellite Observations Based on the isQG Method

Chen,

Wang,

Liu

et al. 2023

Earth and Space Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By incorporating the high‐resolution satellite remote sensing sea surface temperature (SST) with low‐resolution sea level anomaly and sea surface salinity (SSS), this study explores the reconstructability of the three‐dimensional (3D) eddy structures via the “interior + surface quasigeostrophic” (isQG) method in the South Indian Ocean. We apply the incorporation of high‐resolution SST to improve the spatial resolution of the reconstruction. We also propose a correction scheme for density reconstruction within the mixed layer to offset the absence of mixed layer dynamics in the SQG framework. Comparison against the in situ observations demonstrates a satisfactory reconstructability for subsurface velocity and density anomalies. Statistically, the zonal velocity reconstructability outperforms its meridional counterpart and the corresponding velocity phase. The reconstructed shallow‐layer velocity exhibits a superior skill in eddy‐active regions, when compared with drogued drifter observations. Reconstructed subsurface velocities reproduce the spatial structures of eddy‐induced velocity anomaly along the GO‐SHIP observation transect, although present smaller magnitudes. Results demonstrate the potential applicability of the isQG method for reconstructing mesoscale eddies, particularly in the ocean at mid‐to‐high latitudes, where subsurface dynamics are strongly influenced by barotropic and the first baroclinic modes. With the upcoming high‐advanced satellite observations, the isQG framework is expected to achieve better subsurface estimations.

show abstract

Can the Surface Quasi‐Geostrophic (SQG) Theory Explain Upper Ocean Dynamics in the South Atlantic?

Cited by 7 publications

References 85 publications

The buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeostrophic turbulence

The buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeostrophic turbulence

Surface and Interior Dynamics of Arctic Seas Using Surface Quasi-Geostrophic Approach

Estimating Three‐Dimensional Structures of Eddy in the South Indian Ocean From the Satellite Observations Based on the isQG Method

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About