Eddy–Mean Flow Interaction in the Gulf Stream at 68°W. Part I: Eddy Energetics

Cronin, Meghan F.; Watts, D. Randolph

doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1996)026<2107:efiitg>2.0.co;2

Cited by 83 publications

(123 citation statements)

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“…8). Note, however, that only horizontally divergent heat fluxes are related to baroclinic conversion events (Cronin and Watts 1996). Unfortunately, it is not possible, using the present dataset, to identify an upper-isotherm boundary or the lateral gradients needed to calculate the divergence of the temperature flux following Voet and Quadfasel (2010).…”

Section: ) Baroclinic Instabilitymentioning

confidence: 82%

Faroe Bank Channel Overflow: Mesoscale Variability*

Darelius

Fer

Quadfasel

2011

Journal of Physical Oceanography

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The Faroe Bank Channel is the deepest connection through the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, where dense water formed north of the ridge flows southward over the sill crest, contributing to the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water. The overflow region is characterized by high mesoscale variability and energetic oscillations, accompanied by a high degree of sea surface level variability. Here, 2-month-long time series of velocity and temperature from 12 moorings deployed in May 2008 are analyzed to describe the oscillations and explore their generation and propagation. The observed 2.5-5-day oscillations in velocity and temperature are highly coherent both horizontally and vertically, and they are associated with 100-200-m-thick boluses of cold plume water flowing along the slope. A positive correlation between temperature and relative vorticity and the distribution of clockwise/counterclockwise rotation across the slope suggest a train of alternating warm cyclonic and cold anticyclonic eddies, where the maximum plume thickness is located downslope of the eddy center. The along-slope phase velocity is found to be 25-60 cm s 21 , corresponding to a wavelength of 75-180 km, while the vertical phase propagation is downward. The oscillations are present already in the sill region. The observations do not match predictions for eddies generated either by vortex stretching or baroclinic instability but agree broadly with properties of topographic Rossby waves.

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Section: ) Baroclinic Instabilitymentioning

confidence: 82%

Faroe Bank Channel Overflow: Mesoscale Variability*

Darelius

Fer

Quadfasel

2011

Journal of Physical Oceanography

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“…A key result of this study is that directly resolving mesoscale eddies shows that the response of ACC's EKE, for instance, to changes in wind stress, is likely too nuanced to be described by trends spanning the whole ACC or even basins. We plan to analyze the momentum and vorticity budgets of both high-and low-resolution simulations, similar to Cronin and Watts (1996) and Hughes (2005) in a future study. There are some potential shortcomings of our simulation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern Ocean Overturning Compensation in an Eddy-Resolving Climate Simulation

Bishop

Gent

Bryan

et al. 2016

Journal of Physical Oceanography

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The Southern Ocean's Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and meridional overturning circulation (MOC) response to increasing zonal wind stress is, for the first time, analyzed in a high-resolution (0.18 ocean and 0.258 atmosphere), fully coupled global climate simulation using the Community Earth System Model. Results from a 20-yr wind perturbation experiment, where the Southern Hemisphere zonal wind stress is increased by 50% south of 308S, show only marginal changes in the mean ACC transport through Drake Passage-an increase of 6% [136-144 Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv [ 10 6 m 3 s 21 )] in the perturbation experiment compared with the control. However, the upper and lower circulation cells of the MOC do change. The lower cell is more affected than the upper cell with a maximum increase of 64% versus 39%, respectively. Changes in the MOC are directly linked to changes in water mass transformation from shifting surface isopycnals and sea ice melt, giving rise to changes in surface buoyancy forcing. The increase in transport of the lower cell leads to upwelling of warm and salty Circumpolar Deep Water and subsequent melting of sea ice surrounding Antarctica. The MOC is commonly supposed to be the sum of two opposing components: a wind-and transient-eddy overturning cell. Here, the transient-eddy overturning is virtually unchanged and consistent with a large-scale cancellation of localized regions of both enhancement and suppression of eddy kinetic energy along the mean path of the ACC. However, decomposing the time-mean overturning into a time-and zonal-mean component and a standing-eddy component reveals partial compensation between wind-driven and standing-eddy components of the circulation.

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“…Second, in the ECCO2 state estimate, the EAPE loss rate through horizontal advection is 6 GW (5 GW ) in the Kuroshio (Gulf Stream) Extension region, which is non-negligible compared to B EAP E . Previous modeling and mooring analysis shows that the rotational eddy heat fluxes in the Gulf Stream Extension region are large (Cronin and Watts, 1996;Jayne and Marotzke, 2002). This suggests that a non-negligible part of B EAP E is B EAP E,R , which may balance the EKE loss through horizontal advection in this region.…”

Section: Western Boundary Extensionsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

Chen¹

2013

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Studying oceanic eddies is important for understanding and predicting ocean circulation and climate variability. The central focus of this dissertation is the energy exchange between eddies and mean flow and banded structures in the low-frequency component of the eddy field. A combination of a realistic eddy-permitting ocean state estimate and simplified theoretical models is used to address the following specific questions. (1) What are the major spatial characteristics of eddy-mean flow interaction from an energy perspective? Is eddy-mean flow interaction a local process in most ocean regions? (2) The banded structures in the low-frequency eddy field are termed striations. How much oceanic variability is associated with striations? How does the time-mean circulation, for example a subtropical gyre or constant mean flow, influence the origin and characteristics of striations? How much do striations contribute to the energy budget and tracer mixing?

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Eddy–Mean Flow Interaction in the Gulf Stream at 68°W. Part I: Eddy Energetics

Cited by 83 publications

References 0 publications

Faroe Bank Channel Overflow: Mesoscale Variability*

Faroe Bank Channel Overflow: Mesoscale Variability*

Southern Ocean Overturning Compensation in an Eddy-Resolving Climate Simulation

Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

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