Characterizing and following eddies in Drake Passage
Characterizing and following eddies in Drake Passage
Drake Passage, the gap between South America and Antarctica, is a very energetic region, with strong currents and numerous eddies. These eddies are important for mixing waters across the main three fronts, and for affecting the biological productivity in the region. We use weekly maps of colour images, sea level anomaly and geostrophic velocities to characterize physical and biological activity in the region surrounding Drake Passage. In particular, we note that the largest eddy kinetic energy occurs to the east of the passage and is principally in the area bounded by the mean Subantarctic Front (SAF) and the mean Polar Front, whilst the biological productivity is highest in coastal regions, with the SAF acting as a clear southern boundary. In a number of cases, cyclonic eddies detected by altimetry also show a strong signature in ocean color. Regular XBT (eXpendable BathyThermograph) surveys provide information on sub-surface structure, confirming the altimetric identification of features and showing that they often contain water masses originating from the other side of the front.
eddies, altimetry, sea level anomaly chlorophyll concentration, XBT, Drake Passage
[4pp]
Gómez-Enri, Jesus
70a078f3-a66b-41e4-a1db-56ac24a71f9b
Navarro, Gabriel
67818bdc-1360-47e6-8f91-405fae1f6fdd
Quartly, Graham D
3d1e4e87-f001-4d18-b95f-9bca4db6ff9d
Villares, Pilar
50c2d966-29cf-40a4-88bd-cc89207d8580
2007
Gómez-Enri, Jesus
70a078f3-a66b-41e4-a1db-56ac24a71f9b
Navarro, Gabriel
67818bdc-1360-47e6-8f91-405fae1f6fdd
Quartly, Graham D
3d1e4e87-f001-4d18-b95f-9bca4db6ff9d
Villares, Pilar
50c2d966-29cf-40a4-88bd-cc89207d8580
Gómez-Enri, Jesus, Navarro, Gabriel, Quartly, Graham D and Villares, Pilar
(2007)
Characterizing and following eddies in Drake Passage.
In IGARSS 2007: Sensing and Understanding our Planet, Barcelona, Spain, 23-27 July 2007.
IEEE.
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Drake Passage, the gap between South America and Antarctica, is a very energetic region, with strong currents and numerous eddies. These eddies are important for mixing waters across the main three fronts, and for affecting the biological productivity in the region. We use weekly maps of colour images, sea level anomaly and geostrophic velocities to characterize physical and biological activity in the region surrounding Drake Passage. In particular, we note that the largest eddy kinetic energy occurs to the east of the passage and is principally in the area bounded by the mean Subantarctic Front (SAF) and the mean Polar Front, whilst the biological productivity is highest in coastal regions, with the SAF acting as a clear southern boundary. In a number of cases, cyclonic eddies detected by altimetry also show a strong signature in ocean color. Regular XBT (eXpendable BathyThermograph) surveys provide information on sub-surface structure, confirming the altimetric identification of features and showing that they often contain water masses originating from the other side of the front.
Text
IGARSS_2007_DrakeP.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Published date: 2007
Venue - Dates:
IGARSS 2007, Barcelona, Spain, 2007-07-23 - 2007-07-27
Keywords:
eddies, altimetry, sea level anomaly chlorophyll concentration, XBT, Drake Passage
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 46522
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/46522
PURE UUID: bf1f40eb-a083-4fac-962f-3a755e9329cd
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 04 Jul 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:24
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Jesus Gómez-Enri
Author:
Gabriel Navarro
Author:
Graham D Quartly
Author:
Pilar Villares
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