Rhines效应对高度计观测的海洋中尺度涡空间分布特征的影响

Rhines效应是指Rossby波和大湍流（中尺度涡）相互作用,将涡动能量以波的形式传播出去,从而使中尺度涡发生形变,最终消亡的一种动力学机制。本文通过比较海洋里涡特征速度和Rossby长波波速的方法,研究了一种广义的Rhines效应对高度计观测的海洋中尺度涡空间分布特征的影响。结果显示,广义Rhines效应比只考虑行星涡度梯度的传统形式对中尺度涡的分布具有更显著的影响。大部分中尺度涡分布在涡特征速度（U_e）大于由广义Beta值计算的Rossby长波波速（U_cg）的区域。这些涡可以由动能反向串级过程获取能量,成长为振幅和空间尺度较大的涡。热带海域以外的“涡旋沙漠”区域,中尺度涡的数量稀少,强度很弱,大都分布于U_ecg的海域。广义Rhines效应可能是这些海域中尺度涡难以成长的动力学机制。     

Intrinsic and forced interannual variability of the Gulf of Alaska mesoscale circulation

The response of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) circulation to large-scale North Pacific climate variability is explored using three high resolution (15 km) regional ocean model ensembles over the period 1950-2004. On interannual and decadal timescales the mean circulation is strongly modulated by changes in the large scale climate forcing associated with PDO and ENSO. Intensification of the model gyre scale circulation occurs after the 1976-1977 climate shift, as well as during 1965-1970 and 1993-1995. From the model dynamical budgets we find that when the GOA experiences stronger southeasterly winds, typical during the positive phase of the PDO and ENSO, there is net large-scale Ekman convergence in the central and eastern coastal boundary. The geostrophic adjustment to higher sea surface height (SSH) and lower isopycnals lead to stronger cyclonic gyre scale circulation. The opposite situation occurs during stronger northwesterly winds (negative phase of the PDO).Along the eastern side of the GOA basin, interannual changes in the surface winds also modulate the seasonal development of high amplitude anticyclonic eddies (e.g. Haïda and Sitka eddies). Large interannual eddy events during winter-spring, are phase-locked with the seasonal cycle. The initial eddy dynamics are consistent with a quasi-linear Rossby wave response to positive SSH anomalies forced by stronger downwelling favorable winds (e.g. southwesterly during El Niño). However, because of the fast growth rate of baroclinic instability and the geographical focusing associated with the coastal geometry, most of the perturbation energy in the Rossby wave is locally trapped until converted into large scale nonlinear coherent eddies. Coastally trapped waves of tropical origin may also contribute to positive SSH anomalies that lead to higher amplitude eddies. However, their presence does not appear essential. The model ensembles, which do not include the effects of equatorial coastally trapped waves, capture the large Haïda and Sitka eddy events observed during 1982 and 1997 and explain between 40% and 70% of the tidal gauges variance along the GOA coast.In the western side of the GOA basin, interannual eddy variability located south of the Alaskan Stream is not correlated with large scale forcing and appears to be intrinsic. A comparison of the three model ensembles forced by NCEP winds and a multi-century-long integration forced only with the seasonal cycle, shows that the internal variability alone explains most of the eddy variance. The asymmetry between the eddy forced regime in the eastern basin, and the intrinsic regime in the western basin, has important implications for predicting the GOA response to climate change. If future climate change results in stronger wintertime winds and increased downwelling in the eastern basin, then increased mesoscale activity (perhaps more or larger eddies) might occur in this region. Conversely, the changes in the western basin are not predictable based on environmental forcing. Eastern eddies transport important biogeochemical quantities such as iron, oxygen and chlorophyll-a into the gyre interior, therefore having potential upscale effects on the GOA high-nutrient-low-chlorophyll region.     

Equatorially trapped Rossby waves in the presence of meridionally sheared baroclinic flow in the Pacific Ocean

TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data are analyzed for the 8.5-year period November 1992 to May 2001 to investigate the sea surface height (SSH) and geostrophic velocity signatures of quasi-annual equatorially trapped Rossby waves in the Pacific. The latitudinal structures of SSH and both components of geostrophic velocity are found to be asymmetric about the equator across the entire Pacific with larger amplitude north of the equator. The westward phase speeds are estimated by several different methods to be in the range 0.5-0.6 m s⁻¹. These observed characteristics are inconsistent with the classical theory for first vertical, first meridional mode equatorially trapped Rossby waves, which predicts a phase speed of about 0.9 m s⁻¹ with latitudinally symmetric structures of SSH and zonal velocity and antisymmetric structure of meridional velocity. The observations are even less consistent with the latitudinal structures of SSH and geostrophic velocity components for other modes of the classical theory.The latitudinal asymmetries deduced here have also been consistently observed in past analyses of subsurface thermal data and altimeter data and have been variously attributed to sampling errors in the observational data, a superposition of multiple meridional Rossby wave modes, asymmetric forcing by the wind, and forcing by cross-equatorial southerly winds in the eastern Pacific. We propose a different mechanism to account for the observed asymmetric latitudinal structure of low-frequency equatorial Rossby waves. From the free-wave solutions of a simple 1.5-layer model, it is shown that meridional shears in the mean equatorial current system significantly alter the potential vorticity gradient in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. The observed asymmetric structures of sea surface height and geostrophic velocity components are found to be a natural consequence of the shear modification of the potential vorticity gradient. The mean currents also reduce the predicted westward phase speed of first meridional mode Rossby waves, improving consistency with the observations.     

The eigenvalue equations of equatorial waves on a sphere

Zonally propagating wave solutions of the linearized shallow water equations (LSWE) in a zonal channel on the rotating spherical earth are constructed from numerical solutions of eigenvalue equations that yield the meridional variation of the waves' amplitudes and the phase speeds of these waves. An approximate Schrödinger equation, whose potential depends on one parameter only, is derived, and this equation yields analytic expressions for the dispersion relations and for the meridional structure of the waves' amplitudes in two asymptotic cases. These analytic solutions validate the accuracy of the numerical solutions of the exact eigenvalue equation. Our results show the existence of Kelvin, Poincaré and Rossby waves that are harmonic for large radius of deformation. For small radius of deformation, the latter two waves vary as Hermite functions. In addition, our results show that the mixed mode of the planar theory (a meridional wavenumber zero mode that behaves as a Rossby wave for large zonal wavenumbers and as a Poincaré wave for small ones) does not exist on a sphere; instead, the first Rossby mode and the first westward propagating Poincaré mode are separated by the anti-Kelvin mode for all values of the zonal wavenumber.     

Mechanism of currents through the straits of the Japan Sea: Mean state and seasonal variation

The mechanism governing the mean state and the seasonal variation of the transports through the straits of the Japan Sea is studied using a newly presented, simple analytical model and a basin scale general circulation model (GCM). The GCM reproduces the transports through the straits of the Japan Sea realistically owing to its fine horizontal resolution of about 20 km and realistic topography. A series of experiments conducted by changing surface forcing shows that the annual mean wind-driven circulation in the North Pacific Ocean is most responsible for the formation of the mean transports. It is also found that the seasonal variation of the alongshore component of monsoonal wind stress over the North Pacific basin, especially that over the Okhotsk Sea, is responsible for the seasonal variation of the transports. The simple analytical model can explain these simulated features very well. The physical concept of this model is based on the formation of the around-island circulation through the adjustment of coastally trapped waves and Rossby waves and geostrophic control at the narrow straits. It solves the sea surface heights (SSHs) at the edge of each strait and the transport through it. The value of the line integral of the SSH along the island is determined by the baroclinic Rossby waves approaching the island from the east and the alongshore wind stress around the island. The basin scale seasonal variation of SSH along the coast induced by the variation of the alongshore monsoonal wind stress can also be incorporated into this model by giving the SSH anomaly at the northeastern point of the Soya Strait. Thus, it is suggested that both the mean state and the seasonal variation are caused mainly by wind stress forcing. Minor modification by the seasonal heat flux forcing brings the amplitude and the phase of the seasonal variation closer to the observed values.     

Sea Surface Height Variability in the Indian Ocean from TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimetry and Model Simulations

Sea Surface Height (SSH) variability in the Indian Ocean during 1993-1995 is studied using TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetry data. Strong interannual variability is seen in the surface circulation of the western Arabian Sea, especially in the Somali eddy structure. During the Southwest (SW) monsoon, a weak monsoon year is characterized by a single eddy system off Somalia, a strong or normal monsoon year by several energetic eddies. The Laccadive High (LH) and Laccadive Low (LL) systems off southwest India are observed in the altimetric SSH record. The variability of the East India Coastal Current (EICC), the western boundary current in the Bay of Bengal, is also detected. Evidence is found for the propagation of Kelvin and Rossby waves across the northern Indian Ocean; these are examined in the context of energy transfer to the western boundary currents, and associated eddies. A simple wind-driven isopycnal model having three active layers is implemented to simulate the seasonal changes of surface and subsurface circulation in the North Indian Ocean and to examine the response to different wind forcing. The wind forcing is derived from the ERS-1 scatterometer wind stress for the same period as the T/P altimeter data, enabling the model response in different (active/weak) monsoon conditions to be tested. The model output is derived in 10-day snapshots to match the time period of the T/P altimeter cycles. Complex Principal Component Analysis (CPCA) is applied to both altimetric and model SSH data. This confirms that long Rossby waves are excited by the remotely forced Kelvin waves off the southwest coast of India and contribute substantially to the variability of the seasonal circulation in the Arabian Sea.     

Sea Surface Height Variability in the Indian Ocean from TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimetry and Model Simulations

Sea Surface Height (SSH) variability in the Indian Ocean during 1993-1995 is studied using TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetry data. Strong interannual variability is seen in the surface circulation of the western Arabian Sea, especially in the Somali eddy structure. During the Southwest (SW) monsoon, a weak monsoon year is characterized by a single eddy system off Somalia, a strong or normal monsoon year by several energetic eddies. The Laccadive High (LH) and Laccadive Low (LL) systems off southwest India are observed in the altimetric SSH record. The variability of the East India Coastal Current (EICC), the western boundary current in the Bay of Bengal, is also detected. Evidence is found for the propagation of Kelvin and Rossby waves across the northern Indian Ocean; these are examined in the context of energy transfer to the western boundary currents, and associated eddies. A simple wind-driven isopycnal model having three active layers is implemented to simulate the seasonal changes of surface and subsurface circulation in the North Indian Ocean and to examine the response to different wind forcing. The wind forcing is derived from the ERS-1 scatterometer wind stress for the same period as the T/P altimeter data, enabling the model response in different (active/weak) monsoon conditions to be tested. The model output is derived in 10-day snapshots to match the time period of the T/P altimeter cycles. Complex Principal Component Analysis (CPCA) is applied to both altimetric and model SSH data. This confirms that long Rossby waves are excited by the remotely forced Kelvin waves off the southwest coast of India and contribute substantially to the variability of the seasonal circulation in the Arabian Sea.     

Temporal variations of the net Kuroshio transport and its relation to atmospheric variations

Temporal variations of the net Kuroshio transport are investigated using long-term hydrographic data from repeat section of the 137°E meridian from the south of Japan (34°N) to New Guinea (1°S) conducted by the Japan Meteorological Agency. In this study, boundaries of the Kuroshio and the Kuroshio Counter Current (KCC) are defined based on the sea surface dynamic height distribution. Westward flows associated with the KCC and cold-core eddy north of the Kuroshio are removed from the eastward flow associated with the Kuroshio in order to estimate the net Kuroshio transport strictly. The net Kuroshio transport reveals low-frequency variations: significant signals on a decadal (about 10-year) timescale. The variations of net Kuroshio transport are predominantly caused by changes in the magnitude of oceanic current speed fields associated with a vertical movement of the main pycnocline depth around the southern boundary of the Kuroshio: deepening of the main pycnocline around the southern boundary of the Kuroshio forms a sharp northern upward-tilting slope of the isopycnal surfaces at the Kuroshio region, and eventually the net Kuroshio transport increases together with the Kuroshio eastward transport. By using a wind-driven hindcast model, it is found that the main pycnocline depth variation results from the first-mode baroclinic Rossby waves attributable to two types of Aleutian Low (AL) changes: a change in the magnitude of AL and meridional movement of AL.     

Baroclinic wind adjustment processes in the Mediterranean Sea

The wind-driven general circulation of the Mediterranean Sea is studied using a primitive equation model. The model uses a 0.25° horizontal resolution and eight or 16 levels in the vertical. The model uses the Mediterranean basin geometry, and the Strait of Gibraltar is closed. The vertical density structure is initialized with annual average data, and the temperature and salinity values are fixed at the surface to simulate perpetual annual mean conditions. The wind forcing consists of monthly mean climatological stresses.The results show that the general circulation of the Mediterranean Sea has a multiple time-scale character (seasonal excursions and steady state amplitudes are comparable) and it is composed by sub-basin scale gyres corresponding to the scale of the wind stress curl centers. The steady state circulation (annual mean average) is determined by a Sverdrup balacne modified by viscous effects.The unsteady vertically integrated transport circulation consists of sub-basin scale gyres similar to the steady state transport components, which amplify seasonally and the partial or total reversal of the currents in many subportions of the basin. The gyres can be stationary in position or propagating. This seasonal ocean response is partly constituted by Rossby modes due to the wind stress curl annual harmonic. The baroclinic circulation shows the seasonal shift of the North African Current from a position along the African coasts during winter to the center of the Balearic and Ionian basin during summer.     

Why was the 2008 Indian Ocean Dipole a short-lived event?

In this paper, the role of equatorial oceanic waves in affecting the evolution of the 2008 positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event was evaluated using available observations and output from a quasi-analytical linear wave model. It was found that the 2008 positive IOD was an early matured and abruptly terminated event: developed in April, matured in July, and diminished in September. During the development and the maturation of the 2008 positive IOD event, the wind-forced Rossby waves played a dominant role in generating zonal current anomalies in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, while a complex interplay between the wind-forced upwelling Kelvin waves and the eastern-boundary-generated Rossby waves accounted for most of the variability in the eastern basin. The latter induced eastward zonal current anomalies near the eastern boundary during the peak phase of the event. The 2008 positive IOD event was abruptly terminated in mid-July. We found that there were strong eastward zonal currents in mid-July, though the surface wind anomalies in the eastern basin continued to be westward (upwelling favorable). Our analysis shows that these eastward zonal currents mainly resulted from the easternboundary-generated upwelling Rossby waves, although the contribution from the wind-forced downwelling Kelvin waves was not negligible. These eastward zonal currents terminated the zonal heat advection and provided a favorable condition for surface heat flux to warm the eastern basin.     

Eddy activities of the surface layer in the western North Pacific detected by satellite altimeter and radiometer

Geosat radar altimeter data during the first year (from November 1986 to November 1987) of its Exact Repeat Mission are analyzed to estimate the eddy kinetic energy and propagation characteristics of anomalies of sea surface dynamic topography (SSDT) for the western North Pacific. SSDT anomalies are compared with anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST) derived from NOAA satellite radiometer data. The eddy kinetic energy (K _e ) is large in the Kuroshio stationary meander region and Kuroshio Extension region. In the downstream region of the Kuroshio Extension,K _e is especially large on the upstream and downstream sides of prominent bathymetric features. In the interior region of the subtropical gyre is found a zonal tongue of largeK _e at around 20–20°N. Westward propagation is dominant in the SSDT and SST anomaly field at mid-latitudes. Longitude-time lag correlation diagrams reveal the coincidence of SSDT and SST anomalies statistically, which fact suggests the baroclinic nature of the anomalies. Zonal phase speeds of SSDT anomalies are approximately equal to the theoretical speeds of baroclinic first-mode long Rossby waves, but the meridional variation of observed phase speeds does not follow the simple theoretical variation of decreasing speeds monotonously with increasing latitudes.     

北太平洋副热带逆流区涡旋动能谱的季节性变化及其机制

本文利用了23年的卫星高度计数据和WOA13气候态月平均温盐资料,考察了北太平洋副热带逆流(STCC)区涡旋动能谱及其涡旋尺度季节变化的动力过程。为了揭示其动力机制,本文采用了斜压2.5层模式并结合动能串级的理论进行分析。结果表明,在STCC区由于海洋层结及地转流的垂向剪切发生了季节性变化,从而产生的斜压不稳定是导致涡旋动能谱季节变化的原因。涡旋动能最大的时间发生在5—6月份,滞后于斜压最不稳定发生的时间(3月份)约2—3个月左右,这是由于斜压不稳定产生的扰动需要一定时间才能发展成振幅足够大的涡旋。斜压不稳定提供的能量使得涡旋相互作用加强,产生了动能逆向串级,动能谱向更大尺度转移。涡旋能量尺度在3月份仅为280km,而在9月份达到最高值335km左右。另一方面,我们发现STCC区动能谱斜率及动能谱通量也有季节变化,在涡旋动能最大的5—6月份,当尺度小于罗斯贝变形尺度时,谱斜率达到1k–3,而动能谱通量达到最大值。对STCC区涡动能谱及涡旋尺度季节变化的研究,对深入认识中尺度涡旋的产生及其演变机制有着重要的意义。     

Circulation in the South China Sea is in a state of forced oscillation: Results from a simple reduced gravity model with a closed boundary

The South China Sea (SCS) is a narrow semi-enclosed basin, ranging from 4°–6°N to 21°–22°N meridionally. It is forced by a strong annual cycle of monsoon-related wind stress. The Coriolis parameter f increases at least three times from the southern basin to the northern basin. As a result, the basin-cross time for the first baroclinic Rossby wave in the southern part of the basin is about 10-times faster than that in the northern part, which plays the most vitally important role in setting the circulation. At the northernmost edge of SCS, the first baroclinic Rossby wave takes slightly less than 1 year to move across the basin, however, it takes only 1–2 months in the southernmost part. Therefore, circulation properties for a station in the model ocean are not solely determined by the forcing at that time instance only; instead, they depend on the information over the past months. The combination of a strong annual cycle of wind forcing and large difference of basin-cross time for the first baroclinic Rossby wave leads to a strong seasonal cycle of the circulation in the SCS, hence, the circulation is dominated by the forced oscillations, rather than the quasi-steady state discussed in many textbooks.The circulation in the SCS is explored in detail by using a simple reduced gravity model forced by seasonally varying zonal wind stress. In particular, for a given time snap the western boundary current in the SCS cannot play the role of balancing mass transport across each latitude nor balancing mechanical energy and vorticity in the whole basin. In a departure from the steady wind-driven circulation discussed in many existing textbooks, the circulation in the SCS is characterized by the imbalance of mechanical energy and vorticity for the whole basin at any part of the seasonal cycle. In particular, the western boundary current in the SCS cannot balance the mass, mechanical energy, and vorticity in the seasonal cycle of the basin. Consequently, the circulation near the western boundary cannot be interpreted in terms of the wind stress and thermohaline forcing at the same time. Instead, circulation properties near the western boundary should be interpreted in terms of the contributions due to the delayed wind stress and the eastern boundary layer thickness. In fact, there is a clear annual cycle of net imbalance of mechanical energy and vorticity source/sink. Results from such a simple model may have important implications for our understanding of the complicated phenomena in the SCS, either from in-situ observations or numerical simulations.     

Interactions of Mesoscale Eddy and Western Boundary Current: A Reduced-Gravity Numerical Model Study

A reduced-gravity primitive equation eddy resolving model is used to study the interaction of a typhoon-induced eddy and a wind-driven general circulation. A typhoon-induced eddy is characterized by a core with a relative vorticity of the same order as the local Coriolis parameter. This eddy is neutrally stable relative to a disturbance induced by the westward advection of the eddy, due to the planetary β-effect. Hence, its evolution in the open ocean is similar to the classical frontal geostrophic eddy. Within the western boundary flow regime, the eddy is entrained northward by the mean circulation. This northward eddy advection and the mean-vorticity advection due to eddy flow induce another disturbance with a north-south asymmetry into the circular eddy. Together with the zonal asymmetric disturbance, associated with the planetary β-effect, the original circular eddy becomes unstable. The nonlinear eddy-flow interactions in the eastern flank of a western boundary current causes the eddy to deform quickly into an ellipse and lose its waters and energy into the mean circulation.     

Towards a mesoscale eddy closure

A turbulence closure for the effect of mesoscale eddies in non-eddy-resolving ocean models is proposed. The closure consists of a prognostic equation for the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) that is integrated as an additional model equation, and a diagnostic relation for an eddy length scale (L), which is given by the minimum of Rhines scale and Rossby radius. Combining EKE and L using a standard mixing length assumption gives a diffusivity (K), corresponding to the thickness diffusivity in the [Gent, P.R., McWilliams, J.C. 1990. Isopycnal mixing in ocean circulation models. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 20, 150–155] parameterisation. Assuming downgradient mixing of potential vorticity with identical diffusivity shows how K is related to horizontal and vertical mixing processes in the horizontal momentum equation, and also enables us to parameterise the source of EKE related to eddy momentum fluxes.The mesoscale eddy closure is evaluated using synthetic data from two different eddy-resolving models covering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean, respectively. The diagnosis shows that the mixing length assumption together with the definition of eddy length scales is valid within certain limitations. Furthermore, implementation of the closure in non-eddy-resolving models of the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean shows consistently that the closure has skill at reproducing the results of the eddy-resolving model versions in terms of EKE and K.     

Aspects of Deep Ocean Mixing

The turbulent motions responsible for ocean mixing occur on scales much smaller than those resolved in numerical simulations of oceanic flows. Great progress has been made in understanding the sources of energy for mixing, the mechanisms, and the rates. On the other hand, we still do not have adequate answers to first order questions such as the extent to which the thermohaline circulation of the ocean, and hence the earth's climate, is sensitive to the present mixing rates in the ocean interior. Internal waves, generated by either wind or flow over topography, appear to be the principle cause of mixing. Mean and eddy flows over topography generate internal lee waves, while tidal flows over topography generate internal tides. The relative importance of these different internal wave sources is unknown. There are also great uncertainties about the spatial and temporal variation of mixing. Calculations of internal tide generation are becoming increasingly robust, but we do not know enough about the subsequent behavior of internal tides and their eventual breakdown into turbulence. It does seem, however, that most internal tide energy flux is radiated away from generation sites as low modes that propagate over basin scales. The mechanisms of wave-wave interaction and topographic scattering both act to transfer wave energy from low modes to smaller dissipative scales. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dominant spatial variability scales from observations around the Hawaiian Islands

We utilize a variety of available observations with a semivariogram technique to quantify the oceanic variability around the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian Islands have a significant impact on the North Pacific circulation, and quantifying the characteristics of the variability is important for understanding the eddy energy, as well as required for statistical techniques to work with the data, such as optimal interpolation, data assimilation, etc. Both satellite sea surface height and temperature data are used to determine horizontal scales of variability, while Argo profiles, ship-borne profiles, and autonomous Seagliders provide estimates of the vertical scales. In the lee of the islands, satellite data reveal an increase in horizontal variability attributed to enhanced eddy activity that persists for over 1000 km westward; however, only within 400 km of the immediate lee the horizontal length scales are greatly reduced. Further west, length scales increase significantly indicating a change in the generation mechanism for eddy variability and where eddies merge and coalesce. The meridional length scale gradient is found to be larger than previous results and more representative of the gradient of the first baroclinic mode of the internal Rossby radius. Vertical length scales are shown to increase in the lee, with vertical temperature variability doubled from the windward side.     

南海海盆中尺度涡移动速度统计分析

基于1993-2017年卫星高度计数据得到的中尺度涡追踪产品,分析了1000 m以深南海海盆中尺度涡移动速度C的时空分布特征。结果表明,南海海盆气候态平均的中尺度涡纬向移动速度c_x均为西向,经向移动速度c_y在海盆西北侧为南向,东南侧为北向。c_y随经度的变化与背景经向流的变化一致,相关系数达0.96,而c_x的变化与背景纬向流和β效应有关。c_x和C存在明显季节变化,夏季最慢,冬季最快。年际变化上,c_x和c_y的大值多发生在太平洋年代际涛动（PDO）负位相期的La Nina年。中尺度涡在其生命周期的开始和结束阶段（即生成和耗散阶段）移速较快,而在稳定的“中期”阶段移动缓慢。该趋势与涡旋转速呈反相关,相关系数为-0.93。以移速小于1.5 cm/s和大于15.4 cm/s定义的极慢和极快涡旋,分别占总涡旋数量的1.5%和1.9%。移速极慢的涡多出现在海盆的中部,且主要发生在夏季;移速极快的涡多出现在海盆的边缘,且主要发生在冬季。机制分析显示,南海海盆中尺度涡移动速度的时空分布受到大尺度背景流场调制。     

Contributions to dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (A.C.C.) (I. Zonal transport)

Scaling of the equations of motion of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current indicates that the Rossby number and the Ekman number are 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁵ but the vertical Ekman number may reach unity in the bottom boundary layer. The equations of motion are integrated vertically from the surface to the bottom and averaged over a latitude circle. The resulting equation in the meridional direction is predominantly geostrophic, whereas the main terms of the equation in the zonal direction are the wind stress and the bottom stress. When the vertical eddy viscosity near the bottom is of the order of 10²cm²/sec, the total zonal transport through the Drake Passage computed from the balance of the wind stress and the bottom stress equals 260×10⁶m³/sec, the amount determined byReid andNowlin (1970) from observations. The northward transport reduces the eastward transport corresponding to the wind stress of the westerlies in the A. C. C. through the Coriolis' term in the vertically integrated equation of motion of the zonal direction. South of the Drake Passage, such reduction reaches about ten percent of the wind-driven transport mainly due to the peripheral water discharge. North of the Drake Passage, the northward transport may be generated by the effect of the South American coast which prevents free eastward movement of the A. C. C., causing a wake to the east. This transport may contribute to a part of the northward transport of the bottom water postulated byMunk (1966). The effect of the horizontal eddy viscosity in the zonal transport equation is negligible except near the Antarctic coast, if the eddy viscosity is less than 10⁹cm²/sec.     

Interaction between Rossby Waves and a Jet Flow: Basic Equations and Verification for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Abstract—The article focuses on the interaction of Rossby waves in the ocean with zonal jet flows. A new approach is proposed to show that...