Forcing of the overturning circulation across a circumpolar channel by internal wave breaking
Forcing of the overturning circulation across a circumpolar channel by internal wave breaking
The hypothesis that the impingement of mesoscale eddy flows on small-scale topography regulates diapycnal mixing and meridional overturning across the deep Southern Ocean is assessed in an idealised model. The model simulates an eddying circumpolar current coupled to a double-celled meridional overturning with properties broadly resembling those of the Southern Ocean circulation, and represents lee wave-induced diapycnal mixing using an online formulation grounded on wave radiation theory. The diapycnal mixing generated by the simulated eddy field is found to play a major role in sustaining the lower overturning cell in the model, and to underpin a significant sensitivity of this cell to wind forcing. The vertical structure of lower overturning is set by mesoscale eddies, which propagate the effects of near-bottom diapycnal mixing by displacing isopycnals vertically.
Southern Ocean overturning, ocean dynamics, ocean models, internal lee waves, diapycnal mixing, subgrid-scale processes
5436-5451
Broadbridge, Maria B.
b2d31ca0-eebb-4a53-b1b0-e3d8d67eb683
Naveira Garabato, Alberto
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Nurser, A.J. George
2493ef9a-21e9-4d8b-9c32-08677e7e145a
5 August 2016
Broadbridge, Maria B.
b2d31ca0-eebb-4a53-b1b0-e3d8d67eb683
Naveira Garabato, Alberto
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Nurser, A.J. George
2493ef9a-21e9-4d8b-9c32-08677e7e145a
Broadbridge, Maria B., Naveira Garabato, Alberto and Nurser, A.J. George
(2016)
Forcing of the overturning circulation across a circumpolar channel by internal wave breaking.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 121 (8), .
(doi:10.1002/2015JC011597).
Abstract
The hypothesis that the impingement of mesoscale eddy flows on small-scale topography regulates diapycnal mixing and meridional overturning across the deep Southern Ocean is assessed in an idealised model. The model simulates an eddying circumpolar current coupled to a double-celled meridional overturning with properties broadly resembling those of the Southern Ocean circulation, and represents lee wave-induced diapycnal mixing using an online formulation grounded on wave radiation theory. The diapycnal mixing generated by the simulated eddy field is found to play a major role in sustaining the lower overturning cell in the model, and to underpin a significant sensitivity of this cell to wind forcing. The vertical structure of lower overturning is set by mesoscale eddies, which propagate the effects of near-bottom diapycnal mixing by displacing isopycnals vertically.
Text
jgrc21824.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
Text
jgrc21824.pdf
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 21 June 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 August 2016
Published date: 5 August 2016
Keywords:
Southern Ocean overturning, ocean dynamics, ocean models, internal lee waves, diapycnal mixing, subgrid-scale processes
Organisations:
Marine Systems Modelling, Physical Oceanography
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 397467
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/397467
PURE UUID: 8beaf972-1c48-433f-b501-867c88ec578e
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 01 Jul 2016 15:15
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Maria B. Broadbridge
Author:
A.J. George Nurser
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
