scholarly journals Ageostrophic Secondary Circulation in a Subtropical Intrathermocline Eddy

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1107-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bàrbara Barceló-Llull ◽  
Enric Pallàs-Sanz ◽  
Pablo Sangrà ◽  
Antonio Martínez-Marrero ◽  
Sheila N. Estrada-Allis ◽  
...  

AbstractVertical motions play a key role in the enhancement of primary production within mesoscale eddies through the introduction of nutrients into the euphotic layer. However, the details of the vertical velocity field w driving these enhancements remain under discussion. For the first time the mesoscale w associated with an intrathermocline eddy is computed and analyzed using in situ high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) fields of density and horizontal velocity by resolving a generalized omega equation valid for high Rossby numbers. In the seasonal pycnocline the diagnosed w reveals a multipolar structure with upwelling and downwelling cells located at the eddy periphery. In the main pycnocline w is characterized by a dipolar structure with downwelling velocities upstream of the propagation path and upwelling velocities downstream. Maximum values of w reach 6.4 m day−1. An observed enhancement of chlorophyll-a at the eddy periphery coincides with the location of the upwelling and downwelling cells. Analysis of the forcing terms of the generalized omega equation indicates that the mechanisms behind the dipolar structure of the w field are a combination of horizontal deformation and advection of vertical relative vorticity by ageostrophic vertical shear. The wind during the eddy sampling was rather constant and uniform with a speed of 5 m s−1. Diagnosed nonlinear Ekman pumping leads to a dipolar pattern that mirrors the inferred w. Horizontal ageostrophic secondary circulation is dominated by centripetal acceleration and closes the dipole w structure. Vertical fluxes act to maintain the intrathermocline eddy structure.

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1273-1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Whitney ◽  
J. S. Allen

Abstract This study examines how coastal banks influence wind-driven circulation along stratified continental shelves. Numerical experiments are conducted for idealized symmetric banks; the standard bank (200 km long and 50 km wide) has dimensions similar to the Heceta Bank complex along the Oregon shelf. Model runs are forced with 10 days of steady winds (0.1 Pa); upwelling and downwelling cases are compared. The bank introduces significant alongshelf variability in the currents and density fields. Upwelling-favorable winds create an upwelling front and a baroclinic jet (flowing opposite coastal-trapped wave propagation) that bend around the standard bank, approximately centered on the 90-m isobath. The upwelling jet is strongest over the upstream bank half, where it advects a tongue of dense water over the bank. There is a current reversal shoreward of the main jet at the bank center. Upwelling is most intense over the upstream part of the bank, while there is reduced upwelling and even downwelling over other bank sections. Downwelling-favorable winds create a near-bottom density front and a baroclinic jet (flowing in the direction of coastal-trapped wave propagation) that bend around the standard bank; the jet core moves from the 150-m isobath to the 100-m isobath and back over the bank. The downwelling jet is slowest and widest over the bank; there are no current reversals. Results over the bank are more similar to 2D results (that preclude alongshelf variability) than in the upwelling case. Downwelling is weakened over the bank. The density field evolution over the bank is fundamentally different from the upwelling case. Most model results for banks with different dimensions are qualitatively similar to the standard run. The exceptions are banks having a radius of curvature smaller than the inertial radius; the main jet remains detached from the coast far downstream from these banks. The lowest-order across-stream momentum balance indicates that the depth-averaged flow is geostrophic. Advection, ageostrophic pressure gradients, wind stress, and bottom stress are all important in the depth-averaged alongstream momentum balance over the bank. There is considerable variability in alongstream momentum balances over different bank sections. Across-shelf and alongshelf advection both change the density field over the bank. Barotropic potential vorticity is not conserved, but the tendency for relative vorticity changes and depth changes to partially counter each other results in differences between the upwelling and downwelling jet paths over the bank. Only certain areas of the bank have significant vertical velocities. In these areas of active upwelling and downwelling, vertical velocities at the top of the bottom boundary layer are due to either the jet crossing isobaths or bottom Ekman pumping.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1298-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Whitney ◽  
J. S. Allen

Abstract This study investigates wind-driven circulation in the vicinity of the Heceta Bank complex along the Oregon shelf. Numerical experiments forced with steady winds (0.1 Pa) are conducted; upwelling and downwelling cases are compared. The asymmetric bank bathymetry is the only configurational difference from the symmetric bank runs analyzed in Part I (Whitney and Allen). Upwelling-favorable winds generate an upwelling front and southward baroclinic jet. Model results indicate the upwelling jet is centered on the 100-m isobath along the straight shelf. The jet follows this isobath offshore around the northern part of the bank but separates from sharply turning isobaths in the southern half and flows over deeper waters. The jet turns back toward the coast farther downstream. Inshore of the main jet, currents reverse and flow back onto the bank. These reversed currents turn southward again (at the bank center) and join a secondary southward coastal upwelling jet. This secondary coastal jet converges with the stronger main jet farther downstream. Upwelling is intense at the northern bank edge near the coast, where a dense water tongue is advected over the bank. Upwelling also is strong on the southern bank half where the flow turns and reverses. Other areas of the bank have reduced upwelling or even downwelling during upwelling-favorable winds. Downwelling-favorable winds drive a near-bottom density front and a northward jet. The slower downwelling jet flows along the 130-m isobath over the straight shelf. The jet departs from isobaths over the southern bank half and follows a straighter path over shallower waters. There are no reversed currents over the bank. The bank is an area of reduced downwelling. Some of the differences in the evolution of the current and density fields are linked to fundamental differences between the upwelling and downwelling regimes; these are anticipated by the symmetric bank results of Part I. Other differences arise because of the bank asymmetry and opposite flow directions over the bank. The lowest-order depth-averaged across-stream momentum balance remains geostrophic over the bank. Advection, ageostrophic pressure gradients, wind stress, and bottom stress all are important in the depth-averaged alongstream momentum balance over the Heceta Bank complex. Both across-shelf and alongshelf density advection are important. Barotropic potential vorticity is not conserved over the bank, but the tendency for relative vorticity changes and depth changes to partially counter each other influences the different paths of the upwelling and downwelling jets. There are several regions of active upwelling and downwelling over the bank. In these areas, vertical velocities at the top of the bottom boundary layer are linked to topographic upwelling and downwelling and Ekman pumping. There is considerable spatial variability in the currents, densities, and dynamics over the Heceta Bank complex.


2013 ◽  
Vol 726 ◽  
pp. 371-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Benthuysen ◽  
Leif N. Thomas

AbstractNonlinear stratified spindown of an along-isobath current over an insulated slope is shown to develop asymmetries in the vertical circulation and vertical relative vorticity field. During spindown, cyclonic vorticity is weakened to a greater extent than anticyclonic vorticity near the boundary because of buoyancy advection. As a consequence, Ekman pumping is weakened over Ekman suction. Momentum advection can weaken Ekman pumping and strengthen Ekman suction. Time-dependent feedback between the geostrophic flow and the frictional secondary circulation induces asymmetry in cyclonic and anticyclonic vorticity away from the boundary. Buoyancy advection over a slope can modify the secondary circulation such that anticyclonic vorticity decays faster than cyclonic vorticity outside the boundary layer. In contrast, momentum advection can cause cyclonic vorticity to spin down faster than anticyclonic vorticity. A scaling and analytical solutions are derived for when buoyancy advection over a slope can have a more significant impact than momentum advection on these asymmetries. In order to test this scaling and analytical solutions, numerical experiments are run in which both buoyancy and momentum advection are active. These solutions are contrasted with homogeneous or stratified spindown over a flat bottom, in which momentum advection controls the asymmetries. These results are applied to ocean currents over continental shelves and slopes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (20) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiao-Kung Liu ◽  
Jan J. Leendertse

This paper presents the development of a three dimensional model of the Gulf of Alaska. The model extends between the Vancouver Island and the Aleutian Islands covering approximatedly 1.5 million square kilometers over the northern Pacific Ocean. Formulated on an ellipsoidal horizontal grid and variable vertical grid, the model is schematized over a 81 x 53 x 10 grid structure. The solution scheme is implicit over the vertical and is programmed using one-dimensional dynamic array for the efficient use of machine storage. The turbulence closure scheme for the non-homogeneous vertical shear is formulated so that the potential and kinetic energetics are monitored and transferred in a closed form. The hydrodynamic model is coupled to a two-dimensional stochastic weather model and an oil-spill trajectory/weathering model. The former also simulates stochastically the cyclogenetic/cyclolytic processes within the modeled area. The paper also compares the computed results with the available field data. Good agreements are found in tidal amplitude and phases as well as currents.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1083-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamish A. Ramsay ◽  
Lance M. Leslie ◽  
Peter J. Lamb ◽  
Michael B. Richman ◽  
Mark Leplastrier

Abstract This study investigates the role of large-scale environmental factors, notably sea surface temperature (SST), low-level relative vorticity, and deep-tropospheric vertical wind shear, in the interannual variability of November–April tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the Australian region. Extensive correlation analyses were carried out between TC frequency and intensity and the aforementioned large-scale parameters, using TC data for 1970–2006 from the official Australian TC dataset. Large correlations were found between the seasonal number of TCs and SST in the Niño-3.4 and Niño-4 regions. These correlations were greatest (−0.73) during August–October, immediately preceding the Australian TC season. The correlations remain almost unchanged for the July–September period and therefore can be viewed as potential seasonal predictors of the forthcoming TC season. In contrast, only weak correlations (<+0.37) were found with the local SST in the region north of Australia where many TCs originate; these were reduced almost to zero when the ENSO component of the SST was removed by partial correlation analysis. The annual frequency of TCs was found to be strongly correlated with 850-hPa relative vorticity and vertical shear of the zonal wind over the main genesis areas of the Australian region. Furthermore, correlations between the Niño SST and these two atmospheric parameters exhibited a strong link between the Australian region and the Niño-3.4 SST. A principal component analysis of the SST dataset revealed two main modes of Pacific Ocean SST variability that match very closely with the basinwide patterns of correlations between SST and TC frequencies. Finally, it is shown that the correlations can be increased markedly (e.g., from −0.73 to −0.80 for the August–October period) by a weighted combination of SST time series from weakly correlated regions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3758-3774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Kirshbaum ◽  
Dale R. Durran

Abstract The three-dimensional structure of shallow orographic convection is investigated through simulations performed with a cloud-resolving numerical model. In moist flows that overcome a given topographic barrier to form statically unstable cap clouds, the organization of the convection depends on both the atmospheric structure and the mechanism by which the convection is initiated. Convection initiated by background thermal fluctuations embedded in the flow over a smooth mountain (without any small-scale topographic features) tends to be cellular and disorganized except that shear-parallel bands may form in flows with strong unidirectional vertical shear. The development of well-organized bands is favored when there is weak static instability inside the cloud and when the dry air surrounding the cloud is strongly stable. These bands move with the flow and distribute their cumulative precipitation evenly over the mountain upslope. Similar shear-parallel bands also develop in flows where convection is initiated by small-scale topographic noise superimposed onto the main mountain profile, but in this case stronger circulations are also triggered that create stationary rainbands parallel to the low-level flow. This second dominant mode, which is less sensitive to the atmospheric structure and the strength of forcing, is triggered by lee waves that form over small-scale topographic bumps near the upstream edge of the main orographic cloud. Due to their stationarity, these flow-parallel bands can produce locally heavy precipitation amounts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 664-669
Author(s):  
Zhengyong Yu ◽  
Baozhu Li ◽  
Shenggao Ding ◽  
Wanchun Tang

A compact dual-passband three-dimensional (3D) frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed based on multiple square coaxial waveguides (SCWs), which exhibits good angular stability and both-side fast roll-off characteristics. The unit cell of the proposed 3D FSS is composed of one parallel plate waveguide (PPW) propagation path and two SCW propagation paths. By etching a centered annular slot, each SCW path forms two identical short SCWs. Each short SCW inherently generates one square slot resonance. In each SCW path, on the account of electromagnetic coupling between two square slot resonators provided by two short SCWs, the square slot resonant mode will split into even-/odd-resonant modes. Accordingly, each SCW path can provide a flat second-order passband with two transmission poles. Due to the reflection and out of phase of electromagnetic waves, four transmission zeros located at both sides of the passbands are introduced for high frequency selectivity, realizing both-side fast roll-off performances. In order to explain the operating principle, the electric-field distributions at transmission-zero/pole frequencies are investigated. Finally, an FSS prototype is fabricated and measured, and the results exhibit good angular stability for both TE and TM polarizations under incident angles from 0° to 60°. In addition, the proposed 3D FSS has a compact unit cell.


2020 ◽  
pp. 2001043
Author(s):  
Junxia Wang ◽  
Yuanjie Zheng ◽  
Rong Luo ◽  
Jun Ma ◽  
Yingjie Peng ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 2961-2967 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Muraki ◽  
Chris Snyder

A new class of exact vortex dipole solutions is derived for surface quasigeostrophic (sQG) models. The solutions extend the two-dimensional barotropic modon to fully three-dimensional, continuously stratified flow and are a simple model of localized jets on the tropopause. In addition to the basic sQG dipole, dipole structures exist for a layer of uniform potential vorticity between two rigid boundaries and for a dipole in the presence of uniform background vertical shear and horizontal potential temperature gradient. In the former case, the solution approaches the barotropic Lamb dipole in the limit of a layer that is shallow relative to the Rossby depth based on the dipole’s radius. In the latter case, dipoles that are bounded in the far field must propagate counter to the phase speed of the linear edge waves associated with the surface temperature gradient.


2013 ◽  
Vol 728 ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel S. Pegler ◽  
M. Grae Worster

AbstractWe present an experimental and theoretical study of a thin, viscous fluid layer that flows radially under gravity from a point source into a denser inviscid fluid layer of uniform depth above a rigid horizontal surface. Near the source, the viscous layer lies in full contact with the surface, forming a vertical-shear-dominated viscous gravity current. At a certain distance from the source, the layer detaches from the surface to form a floating current whose dynamics are controlled by the viscous stresses due to longitudinal extension. We describe the dynamics of the grounded and floating components using distinct thin-layer theories. Separating the grounded and floating regions is the freely moving line of detachment, or grounding line, whose evolution we model by balancing the horizontal forces between the two regions. Using numerical and asymptotic analysis, we calculate the evolution of the system from a self-similar form at early times towards a steady state at late times. We use our solutions to illustrate how three-dimensional stresses within marine ice sheets, such as that of West Antarctica, can lead to stabilization of the grounding line. To assess the validity of the assumptions underlying our model, we compare its predictions with data from a series of laboratory experiments.


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