Observations of oceanic potential vorticity and its relationship with other tracers
Observations of oceanic potential vorticity and its relationship with other tracers
Driven by interest in measuring the oceanic velocity field from space, sea surface
temperature (SST) has been suggested as a proxy for potential vorticity (PV), which may
then be inverted to give velocity. However, little is known about the relationships
between PV and other water mass tracers, as these have not previously been thoroughly
examined. In this thesis, the inter-relationships between PV, SST, potential temperature
and salinity in three quite different frontal regions of the ocean are investigated. The
regions studied were in the North-east Atlantic, the Sargasso Sea and the Bellingshausen
Sea (Southern Ocean).
The only earlier work known in this field was by Fischer et al. (1989), which found a
near-linear relationship between PV and isopycnic potential temperature on a shallow
isopycnal in the North Atlantic. This relationship was also evident in climatological
values of PV and temperature in the North Atlantic. The results from the three regions
considered in this thesis vary considerably, and are believed to be due to different frontal
dynamics and water mass formation mechanisms. All the North-east Atlantic results are
in close agreement, despite differences in measurement scales and the year of survey.
The reasons for different relationships occurring are examined. Theories for setting PV
and tracer values are investigated, and in particular the models of Woods (1985) and Spall
(1995) are found to explain the relationships found in the North-east Atlantic and
Sargasso Sea, respectively. However, a combination of these models, applied to different
scales of motion, is needed to explain the Bellingshausen Sea results. Preliminary work is
carried out using a one-dimensional computer model to follow the development of the
relationship in the north-east Atlantic.
Morrison, A.I.
67ce32df-57f9-4a35-b30b-8200338be25a
September 1999
Morrison, A.I.
67ce32df-57f9-4a35-b30b-8200338be25a
Morrison, A.I.
(1999)
Observations of oceanic potential vorticity and its relationship with other tracers.
University of Southampton, Faculty of Science, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Doctoral Thesis, 171pp.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Driven by interest in measuring the oceanic velocity field from space, sea surface
temperature (SST) has been suggested as a proxy for potential vorticity (PV), which may
then be inverted to give velocity. However, little is known about the relationships
between PV and other water mass tracers, as these have not previously been thoroughly
examined. In this thesis, the inter-relationships between PV, SST, potential temperature
and salinity in three quite different frontal regions of the ocean are investigated. The
regions studied were in the North-east Atlantic, the Sargasso Sea and the Bellingshausen
Sea (Southern Ocean).
The only earlier work known in this field was by Fischer et al. (1989), which found a
near-linear relationship between PV and isopycnic potential temperature on a shallow
isopycnal in the North Atlantic. This relationship was also evident in climatological
values of PV and temperature in the North Atlantic. The results from the three regions
considered in this thesis vary considerably, and are believed to be due to different frontal
dynamics and water mass formation mechanisms. All the North-east Atlantic results are
in close agreement, despite differences in measurement scales and the year of survey.
The reasons for different relationships occurring are examined. Theories for setting PV
and tracer values are investigated, and in particular the models of Woods (1985) and Spall
(1995) are found to explain the relationships found in the North-east Atlantic and
Sargasso Sea, respectively. However, a combination of these models, applied to different
scales of motion, is needed to explain the Bellingshausen Sea results. Preliminary work is
carried out using a one-dimensional computer model to follow the development of the
relationship in the north-east Atlantic.
More information
Published date: September 1999
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Digitized via the E-THOS exercise.
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University of Southampton
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Local EPrints ID: 42141
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/42141
PURE UUID: 7d6220a5-039f-41ca-a2f8-0d00345aff84
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Date deposited: 22 Nov 2006
Last modified: 13 Mar 2019 21:13
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Author:
A.I. Morrison
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