Rapid injection of near-inertial shear into the stratified upper ocean at an Antarctic Circumpolar Current front
Rapid injection of near-inertial shear into the stratified upper ocean at an Antarctic Circumpolar Current front
The impact on the upper ocean of the passage of a short, intense storm over a Southern Ocean site, in proximity to an Antarctic Circumpolar Current front, is characterized. The storm causes a wind-induced deepening of the mixed layer and generates an inertial current. Immediate post-storm observations indicate a mixed layer extending to approximately 50 m depth. Subsequent measurements show the upper-ocean to have re-stratified, injecting near-inertial shear in stratified waters within 1 day of the storm's passage. This time scale for the development of near-inertial shear is one order of magnitude shorter than that predicted by the ?-dispersion paradigm. The observed rapid changes in upper-ocean stratification point to the existence of an as yet undocumented, efficient mechanism for injection of near-inertial shear into the stratified ocean that is in turn associated with enhanced turbulence and mixing.
upper-ocean, restratification, near-inertial shear
3431-3441
Forryan, Alexander
4e753ae9-7f12-495f-933a-2c5a1f554a0e
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Polzin, Kurt L.
2424c950-d9b0-471c-95c0-b7b9d44132a1
Waterman, Stephanie
e2809e53-b45c-4b0d-9aa4-6cccfe6fcf65
16 May 2015
Forryan, Alexander
4e753ae9-7f12-495f-933a-2c5a1f554a0e
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Polzin, Kurt L.
2424c950-d9b0-471c-95c0-b7b9d44132a1
Waterman, Stephanie
e2809e53-b45c-4b0d-9aa4-6cccfe6fcf65
Forryan, Alexander, Naveira Garabato, Alberto C., Polzin, Kurt L. and Waterman, Stephanie
(2015)
Rapid injection of near-inertial shear into the stratified upper ocean at an Antarctic Circumpolar Current front.
Geophysical Research Letters, 42 (9), .
(doi:10.1002/2015GL063494).
Abstract
The impact on the upper ocean of the passage of a short, intense storm over a Southern Ocean site, in proximity to an Antarctic Circumpolar Current front, is characterized. The storm causes a wind-induced deepening of the mixed layer and generates an inertial current. Immediate post-storm observations indicate a mixed layer extending to approximately 50 m depth. Subsequent measurements show the upper-ocean to have re-stratified, injecting near-inertial shear in stratified waters within 1 day of the storm's passage. This time scale for the development of near-inertial shear is one order of magnitude shorter than that predicted by the ?-dispersion paradigm. The observed rapid changes in upper-ocean stratification point to the existence of an as yet undocumented, efficient mechanism for injection of near-inertial shear into the stratified ocean that is in turn associated with enhanced turbulence and mixing.
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Published date: 16 May 2015
Keywords:
upper-ocean, restratification, near-inertial shear
Organisations:
Physical Oceanography
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 376013
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/376013
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: f35aa15e-b517-42ea-a0b3-e20479d435c1
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Date deposited: 13 Apr 2015 08:46
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24
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Author:
Alexander Forryan
Author:
Kurt L. Polzin
Author:
Stephanie Waterman
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