Baroclinic adjustment in Drake Passage driven by tropical Pacific forcing
Baroclinic adjustment in Drake Passage driven by tropical Pacific forcing
The time series of high-quality hydrographic measurements of the ACC in Drake Passage is revisited to investigate the extent of baroclinic adjustment in the region on time scales of up to two decades. We find that substantial adjustment of the upper kilometer of northern Drake Passage has occurred on interannual to decadal time scales, driven primarily by tropical Pacific forcing via the poleward propagation of boundary waves. The decadal-scale signal consists of a marked deepening of isopycnals (by ?200 m between the early 1990s and the late 2000s), and reflects ENSO-forced wind-driven baroclinic changes over an extensive region of the eastern South Pacific.
drake passage, enso, baroclinic adjustment, boundary waves
L19610-[5pp]
Close, Sally E.
7fed2aee-5594-45cf-93b7-c96c3824289f
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
16 October 2012
Close, Sally E.
7fed2aee-5594-45cf-93b7-c96c3824289f
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Close, Sally E. and Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
(2012)
Baroclinic adjustment in Drake Passage driven by tropical Pacific forcing.
Geophysical Research Letters, 39 (19), .
(doi:10.1029/2012GL053402).
Abstract
The time series of high-quality hydrographic measurements of the ACC in Drake Passage is revisited to investigate the extent of baroclinic adjustment in the region on time scales of up to two decades. We find that substantial adjustment of the upper kilometer of northern Drake Passage has occurred on interannual to decadal time scales, driven primarily by tropical Pacific forcing via the poleward propagation of boundary waves. The decadal-scale signal consists of a marked deepening of isopycnals (by ?200 m between the early 1990s and the late 2000s), and reflects ENSO-forced wind-driven baroclinic changes over an extensive region of the eastern South Pacific.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 12 October 2012
Published date: 16 October 2012
Keywords:
drake passage, enso, baroclinic adjustment, boundary waves
Organisations:
Physical Oceanography
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 345505
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/345505
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: fbd53ab0-466c-4d6a-bfb5-963b88b4b984
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Date deposited: 22 Nov 2012 09:43
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24
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Author:
Sally E. Close
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