Physical oceanography

Abstract:

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>In this study we track and analyze eddy movement in the global ocean using 20 years of altimeter data and show that, in addition to the well-known westward propagation and slight polarity-based meridional deflections, mesoscale eddies also move randomly in all directions at all latitudes as a result of eddy–eddy interaction. The speed of this random eddy movement decreases with latitude and equals the baroclinic Rossby wave speed at about 25° of latitude. The tracked eddies are on average isotropic at mid- and high latitudes, but become noticeably more elongated in the zonal direction at low latitudes. Our analyses suggest a critical latitude of approximately 25° that separates the global ocean into a low-latitude anisotropic wavelike regime and a high-latitude isotropic turbulence regime. One important consequence of random eddy movement is that it results in lateral diffusion of eddy energy. The associated eddy energy diffusivity, estimated using two different methods, is found to be a function of latitude. The zonal-mean eddy energy diffusivity varies from over 1500 m2 s−1 at low latitudes to around 500 m2 s−1 at high latitudes, but significantly larger values are found in the eddy energy hotspots at all latitudes, in excess of 5000 m2 s−1. Results from this study have important implications for recently developed energetically consistent mesoscale eddy parameterization schemes which require solving the eddy energy budget.</jats:p>

Abstract:

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>We investigate the relationship between Ertel potential vorticity, Q, and Bernoulli potential, B, on orthobaric density surfaces in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), using the Southern Ocean State Estimate. Similar to the extratropical atmospheres of Earth and Mars, Q and B correlate in the ACC in a function-like manner with modest scatter. Below the near-surface, the underlying function relating Q and B appears to be nearly linear. Nondimensionalizing its slope yields “Ma”, a “Mach” number for long Rossby waves, the ratio of the local flow speed to the intrinsic long Rossby wave speed. We empirically estimate the latter using established and novel techniques that yield qualitatively consistent results. Previous work related “Ma” to the degree of homogeneity of Q and to Arnol’d’s shear stability criteria. Estimates of “Ma” for the whole ACC are notably positive, implying inhomogeneous Q, on all circumpolar buoyancy surfaces studied. Upper layers generally exhibit “Ma” slightly less than unity, suggesting that shear instability may operate within these layers. Deep layers exhibit “Ma” greater than unity, implying stability. On surfaces shallower than 1000 m just north of the ACC, the Q versus B slope varies strongly on sub-annual and interannual time-scales, but “Ma” hovers near unity. We also study spatial variability: the ACC is speckled with hundreds of small-scale features with “Ma” near unity, whereas away from the ACC “Ma” is more commonly negative or above unity, both corresponding to stability. Maps of the time-mean “Ma” show stable regions occupy most of the Southern Ocean, except for several topographically controlled hotspots where “Ma” is always near unity.</jats:p>

Abstract:

There have been recent advancements in the quantification of parameters describing the proportion of internal tide energy being dissipated locally and the “efficiency” of diapycnal mixing, that is, the ratio of the diapycnal mixing rate to the kinetic energy dissipation rate. We show that oceanic tidal mixing is nontrivially sensitive to the covariation of these parameters. Varying these parameters one at a time can lead to significant errors in the patterns of diapycnal mixing‐driven upwelling and downwelling and to the over and under estimation of mixing in such a way that the net rate of globally integrated deep circulation appears reasonable. However, the local rates of upwelling and downwelling in the deep ocean are significantly different when both parameters are allowed to covary and be spatially variable. These findings have important implications for the representation of oceanic heat, carbon, nutrients, and other tracer budgets in general circulation models.

Abstract:

The impact of aerosols on cloud properties is one of the leading uncertainties in the human forcing of the climate. Ships are large, isolated sources of aerosol creating linear cloud formations known as shiptracks. These are an ideal opportunity to identify and measure aerosol-cloud interactions. This work uses over 17,000 shiptracks during the implementation of fuel sulfur content regulations to demonstrate the central role of sulfate aerosol in ship exhaust for modifying clouds. By connecting individual shiptracks to transponder data, it is shown that almost half of shiptracks are likely undetected, masking a significant contribution to the climate impact of shipping. A pathway to retrieving ship sulfate emissions is demonstrated, showing how cloud observations could be used to monitor air pollution.