黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程的季节变化研究

近年来的现场观测和理论研究发现, 次中尺度现象广泛存在于上层海洋, 其产生与锋生作用及混合层斜压不稳定存在密切联系。本文利用高分辨率的数值模拟结果并结合动力学及能量诊断分析, 对黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程的季节变化进行了探讨。探讨结果表明, 黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程具有冬季最强, 春季和秋季次之, 夏季最弱的显著季节变化特征。基于冬、夏季次中尺度能量源的诊断可以看到, 这些季节变化特征主要与上层海洋的斜压不稳定和锋生作用有关。冬季, 黑潮延伸体海域的中尺度能量较弱, 但次中尺度过程在季节尺度上表现最为活跃, 这主要与混合层斜压不稳定的作用有关; 夏季, 黑潮延伸体海域的混合层较浅, 次中尺度过程较弱, 但中尺度涡旋活跃, 中尺度流场变形引起的锋生作用对夏季次中尺度现象的产生具有重要影响。在次中尺度能量的季节变化方面, 冬季次中尺度过程从中尺度过程汲取能量的速率远高于夏季, 这是冬季次中尺度过程比夏季更为活跃的主要原因。本文研究结果有助于加深对黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程季节性变化及其动力机制的理解。     

南海东北部亚中尺度过程时空分布特征

基于高分辨率模型2009-2012年的模拟结果,本文对南海东北部亚中尺度过程的时空分布特征进行了研究。模拟结果表明,南海东北部上层广泛存在着相对涡度接近于局地行星涡度的亚中尺度过程。统计结果发现,亚中尺度过程的相对涡度的分布具有着明显的非对称性,即正涡度明显强于负涡度。这意味着相比于负涡度,具有正涡度的亚中尺度过程要更为活跃,而这主要是由离心不稳定导致。同时,亚中尺度过程在时间分布上表现出明显的冬强夏弱的季节变化特征。通过对该海区亚中尺度过程可能生成机制的分析发现,该季节变化与流场拉伸和混合层的厚度有着密切关系,冬季更强的流场拉伸和更深的混合层有利于通过锋生过程和混合层不稳定为亚中尺度过程生成提供更多的能量。     

Mixed layer formation and restratification in presence of mesoscale and submesoscale turbulence

Recent realistic high resolution modeling studies show a net increase of submesoscale activity in fall and winter when the mixed layer depth is at its maximum. This submesoscale activity increase is associated with a reduced deepening of the mixed layer. Both phenomena can be related to the development of mixed layer instabilities, which convert available potential energy into submesoscale eddy kinetic energy and contribute to a fast restratification by slumping the horizontal density gradient in the mixed layer. In the present work, the mixed layer formation and restratification were studied by uniformly cooling a fully turbulent zonal jet in a periodic channel at different resolutions, from eddy resolving (10 km) to submesoscale permitting (2 km). The effect of the submesoscale activity, highlighted by these different horizontal resolutions, was quantified in terms of mixed layer depth, restratification rate and buoyancy fluxes. Contrary to many idealized studies focusing on the restratification phase only, this study addresses a continuous event of mixed layer formation followed by its complete restratification. The robustness of the present results was established by ensemble simulations. The results show that, at higher resolution, when submesoscale starts to be resolved, the mixed layer formed during the surface cooling is significantly shallower and the total restratification is almost three times faster. Such differences between coarse and fine resolution models are consistent with the submesoscale upward buoyancy flux, which balances the convection during the formation phase and accelerates the restratification once the surface cooling is stopped. This submesoscale buoyancy flux is active even below the mixed layer. Our simulations show that mesoscale dynamics also cause restratification, but on longer time scales. Finally, the spatial distribution of the mixed layer depth is highly heterogeneous in the presence of submesoscale activity, prompting the question of whether it is possible to parameterize submesoscale effects and their effects on the marine biology as a function of a spatially-averaged mixed layer depth.     

Spatial-temporal variability of submesoscale currents in the South China Sea

Spatial and seasonal variabilities of submesoscale currents in the northeastern South China Sea are investigated by employing a numerical simulation with a horizontal resolution of 1km. The results suggest that submesoscale currents are widespread in the surface mixed layer mainly due to the mixed layer instabilities and frontogenesis. In horizontal, submesoscale currents are generally more active in the north than those in the south, since that active eddies, especially cyclonic eddies, mainly occur in the northern area. Specifically, submesoscale currents are highly intensified in the east of Dongsha Island and south of Taiwan Island. In temporal sense, submesoscale currents are more active in winter than those in summer, since the mixed layer is thicker and more unstable in the winter. The parameterization developed by Fox-Kemper et al. is examined in terms of vertical velocity, and the results suggest that it could reproduce the vertical velocity if mixed layer instability dominates there. This study improves our understanding of the submesoscale dynamics in the South China Sea.     

High-resolution simulation of upper-ocean submesoscale variability in the South China Sea: Spatial and seasonal dynamical regimes

Submesoscale processes in marginal seas usually have complex generating mechanisms, highly dependent on the local background flow and forcing. This numerical study investigates the spatial and seasonal differences of submesoscale activities in the upper ocean of the South China Sea (SCS) and the different dynamical regimes for sub-regions. The spatial and seasonal variations of vertical vorticity, horizontal convergence, lateral buoyancy gradient, and strain rate are analyzed to compare the submesoscale phenomenon within four sub-regions, the northern region near the Luzon Strait (R1), the middle ocean basin (R2), the western SCS (R3), and the southern SCS (R4). The results suggest that the SCS submesoscale processes are highly heterogeneous in space, with different seasonalities in each sub-region. The submesoscale activities in the northern sub-regions (R1, R2) are active in winter but weak in summer, while there appears an almost seasonal anti-phase in the western region (R3) compared to R1 and R2. Interestingly, no clear seasonality of submesoscale features is shown in the southern region (R4). Further analysis of Ertel potential vorticity reveals different generating mechanisms of submesoscale processes in different sub-regions. Correlation analyses also show the vertical extent of vertical velocity and the role of monsoon in generating submesoscale activities in the upper ocean of sub-regions. All these results suggest that the sub-regions have different regimes for submesoscale processes, e.g., Kuroshio intrusion (R1), monsoon modulation (R2), frontal effects (R3), topography wakes (R4).     

南海上层海洋次中尺度过程空间差异和季节变化特征

南海是西太平洋最大的边缘海, 由于受季风影响显著以及北部海域的黑潮入侵, 其动力环境复杂多变, 次中尺度过程丰富, 且在空间上和时间上存在多变性。文章基于高分辨率数值模式的结果, 通过对次中尺度动力参数的分析, 对比讨论了南海北部、中部、西部和南部海域4个典型子区域上层海洋次中尺度过程的空间差异、季节变化、影响深度、影响因素等问题。研究发现各区域季节性变化特征和机制有所不同: 北部海域受冬季风和黑潮入侵影响, 冬季次中尺度的混合层不稳定较强; 中部海域同样表现为“冬强夏弱”; 西部海域受夏季风影响显著, 夏季次中尺度过程更为活跃; 而南部海域主要受岛屿地形影响较大, 容易产生地形尾涡, 季节性特征不明显。统计分析表明, 次中尺度过程往往表现出强正相对涡度与高应变特征, 在表层更容易出现负位涡, 流体稳定性较差。此外, 文章从能量学角度对次中尺度过程的主要能量来源、控制因素等进行了讨论。     

Submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal

The unbalanced submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal(BoB) are investigated using outputs of the high resolution regional oceanic modeling system. Submesoscale motions in the forms of filaments and eddies are present in the upper mixed layer during the whole annual cycle. Submesoscale motions show an obvious seasonality, in which they are active during the winter and spring but weak during the summer and fall. Their seasonality is associated with the mixed layer...     

黑潮流区次中尺度热量输运特征 ——以2013年1月模拟结果为例

作为中尺度过程与小尺度过程中的过渡,次中尺度过程[空间尺度为O(1～10)km,时间尺度为O(1)天]是海洋动力过程中重要的一环。海洋次中尺度过程具有明显的非地转特征,从而促进垂向热量和物质的输运,因此在海洋上层热量与物质垂直交换中肩负着极为重要的作用。黑潮作为全球最强的西边界流之一,是海洋能量的重要聚集区。针对黑潮流区大尺度环流和中尺度涡旋等动力过程的研究,受到海洋和气象学者的广泛关注,但对黑潮流区次中尺度过程的相关研究相对较少。本文基于高分辨率ROMS数值模式(空间分辨率为1公里),针对黑潮流区(25.5°～29.4°N, 124.4°～131°E)次中尺度过程的空间分布特征及其诱导的热量输运特征进行了研究。模拟结果表明,黑潮流区存在着十分活跃的次中尺度过程,尤其是在黑潮流区及岛屿周边等地形变化剧烈的海区。相对涡度和垂直流速的分布特征表明,次中尺度相对涡度和垂向流速上表现出了明显的不对称性,正相对涡度强于负相对涡度,向下垂向流速强于向上垂向流速,而这主要是由惯性不稳定所导致。通过计算次中尺度引起的热量输运,结果表明次中尺度的水平热量通量为东北方向,从较低纬度朝较高纬度输运,这意味着次中尺度可以促进不同纬度的热量交换;而垂向热量通量则表现出向上输运的特征,即由深层往表层输运,这意味着次中尺度过程可以导致热量在垂直方向上的再分配,从而使得海洋趋于再分层。     

南海西部风驱离岸急流次中尺度锋面的动力学分析

本文利用卫星观测资料和500 m分辨率数值模拟结果,结合理论分析,对南海西部夏季风场驱动的离岸急流海域次中尺度锋面及其不稳定对背景流场的动力学影响进行了研究。卫星观测和模拟结果表明,南海西部（WSCS）存在侧向尺度为O（1-10）km的次中尺度锋面,在地转和非地转运动的共同作用下,次中尺度密度锋面具有一阶Rossby（Ro）和Richardson（Ri）数。锋面诊断结果显示,沿锋面急流方向的风场强迫引起了显著的跨锋面Ekman净输送,有效地在跨锋面方向将表层冷水平流输送至暖水侧,导致海表浮力损失。减弱的垂向层结和增强的水平浮力梯度使得锋面海域出现负Ertel位涡（PV）,表明该密度锋面易受次中尺度对称不稳定（SI）的影响。次中尺度锋面不稳定引起的跨锋面次级环流能够显著增强垂向速度,其最大值可达100 m·d^-1。能量评估结果表明,次中尺度湍流的两个主要能量源,即地转剪切项（GSP）和垂向浮力通量（BFLUX）在锋面海域显著增强表明在沿锋面急流方向的风场强迫作用下,大尺度地转流的地转剪切动能和锋面有效位能能有效地通过锋面不稳定向次中尺度过程传递。因此,次中尺度锋面及其不稳定有助于增强局地垂向交换和正向串级地转能量,可以为夏季WSCS高叶绿素浓度的相干结构和锋面地转能量的正向传递提供新的动力解释。     

南海西部夏季上升流锋面的次中尺度特征分析

利用卫星遥感资料和区域海洋数值模式ROMS(regional ocean modeling system)高分辨率数值模拟结果, 对南海西部夏季上升流锋面的次中尺度特征及其非地转过程进行了探讨。高分辨率卫星遥感观测和数值模拟结果显示, 南海西部夏季锋面海域存在活跃的次中尺度现象, 其水平尺度约为1~10km, 且具有O(1)罗斯贝数(Rossby number, Ro)的典型次中尺度动力学特征。进一步的诊断分析表明, 在夏季西南风的驱动下, 沿锋面射流方向的风应力(down-front wind stress)引起的跨锋面埃克曼输运有利于将海水由锋面冷水侧向暖水侧输运, 减小了锋面海域的垂向层结和Ertel位涡, 加剧了锋面的不稳定, 并形成跨锋面的垂向次级环流。高分辨率模拟结果显示, 锋面海域最大垂向流速可达100m?d ^-1, 显著增强了上层海洋的垂向物质交换。因此, 活跃在锋面海域的次中尺度过程可能是增强南海西部上升流海域垂向物质交换的重要贡献者。     

夏季南海北部粤东陆架锋面的动力特征分析*

本文利用现场观测资料和卫星遥感数据, 并结合ROMS(regional ocean modeling system)数值模拟对南海北部粤东陆架的锋面特征及其影响因素进行探讨。观测结果显示, 夏季南海北部陆架存在活跃的上升流温度锋面, 其水平尺度约为50km, 强度达到0.06℃∙km^-1, 大于同时期卫星遥感观测结果, 垂向影响深度超过20m, 且具有一阶理查森数(Richardson number, Ri)的典型动力学特征。进一步的ROMS 模式诊断分析结果显示, 锋面处水平梯度增强, 且动力学上表现出一阶Ri数, 为锋面不稳定的发生提供了有利条件。高分辨率模拟结果显示, 在夏季西南风的驱动下, 沿锋面地转流方向的风应力引起的跨陆架Ekman输运将锋面处冷水向暖水运移, 导致水平浮力梯度和锋面强度增强并形成负Ertel位涡(Ertel potential vorticity, EPV)。因此, 夏季风场强迫引起的Ekman浮力通量(Ekman buoyancy flux, EBF)可能是南海北部锋面不稳定现象的主要贡献者, 对局地动力环境有重要影响。     

An analysis of mechanisms for submesoscale vertical motion at ocean fronts

We analyze model simulations of a wind-forced upper ocean front to understand the generation of near-surface submesoscale, O(1 km), structures with intense vertical motion. The largest vertical velocities are in the downward direction; their maxima are situated at approximately 25 m depth and magnitudes exceed 1 mm/s or 100 m/day. They are correlated with high rates of lateral strain, large relative vorticity and the loss of geostrophic balance. We examine several mechanisms for the formation of submesoscale structure and vertical velocity in the upper ocean. These include: (i) frontogenesis, (ii) frictional effects at fronts, (iii) mixed layer instabilities, (iv) ageostrophic anticyclonic instability, and (v) nonlinear Ekman effects. We assess the role of these mechanisms in generating vertical motion within the nonlinear, three-dimensionally evolving flow field of the nonhydrostatic model. We find that the strong submesoscale down-welling in the model is explained by nonlinear Ekman pumping and is also consistent with the potential vorticity arguments that analogize down-front winds to buoyancy-forcing. Conditions also support the formation of ageostrophic anticyclonic instabilities, but the contribution of these is difficult to assess because the decomposition of the flow into balanced and unbalanced components via semigeostrophic analysis breaks down at O(1) Rossby numbers. Mixed layer instabilities do not dominate the structure, but shear and frontogenesis contribute to the relative vorticity and strain fields that generate ageostrophy.     

Submesoscale-enhanced filaments and frontogenetic mechanism within mesoscale eddies of the South China Sea

Submesoscale activity in the upper ocean has received intense studies through simulations and observations in the last decade, but in the eddy-active South China Sea (SCS) the fine-scale dynamical processes of submesoscale behaviors and their potential impacts have not been well understood. This study focuses on the elongated filaments of an eddy field in the northern SCS and investigates submesoscale-enhanced vertical motions and the underlying mechanism using satellite-derived observations and a high-resolution (~500 m) simulation. The satellite images show that the elongated highly productive stripes with a typical lateral scale of ~25 km and associated filaments are frequently observed at the periphery of mesoscale eddies. The diagnostic results based on the 500 m-resolution realistic simulation indicate that these submesoscale filaments are characterized by cross-filament vertical secondary circulations with an increased vertical velocity reaching O(100 m/d) due to submesoscale instabilities. The vertical advections of secondary circulations drive a restratified vertical buoyancy flux along filament zones and induce a vertical heat flux up to 110 W/m2. This result implies a significant submesoscale-enhanced vertical exchange between the ocean surface and interior in the filaments. Frontogenesis that acts to sharpen the lateral buoyancy gradients is detected to be conducive to driving submesoscale instabilities and enhancing secondary circulations through increasing the filament baroclinicity. The further analysis indicates that the filament frontogenesis detected in this study is not only derived from mesoscale straining of the eddy, but also effectively induced by the subsequent submesoscale straining due to ageostrophic convergence. In this context, these submesoscale filaments and associated frontogenetic processes can provide a potential interpretation for the vertical nutrient supply for phytoplankton growth in the high-productive stripes within the mesoscale eddy, as well as enhanced vertical heat transport.     

南海北部反气旋涡旋边缘的次中尺度动力过程分析

广泛存在于上层海洋的次中尺度过程能有效地从平衡态的中尺度地转剪切中汲取动能, 并通过非地转斜压不稳定正向串级能量至小尺度的耗散过程, 从而对海洋物质能量输运、中尺度过程变异以及混合层再层化等产生重要影响。文章利用高分辨率(500m)的区域海洋数值模式ROMS(Regional Ocean Modeling System)模拟结果, 并结合理论分析, 对南海北部冬季典型反气旋涡的次中尺度动力过程进行了初步探讨。研究结果表明, 典型中尺度涡边缘存在显著的锋面, 锋面海域强烈的水平浮力梯度能有效地减小Ertel位涡, 有利于诱发次中尺度对称不稳定(symmetric instability); 锋生作用是引起该中尺度涡边缘发生对称不稳定的主要动力机制之一。同时, 次中尺度过程及其不稳定引起的垂向次级环流显著增强了混合层垂向物质能量交换, 最大垂向速度可达95m·d^-1, 影响深度最深至80m。     

Large eddy simulations of mixed layer instabilities and sampling strategies

Recognizing the potential role played by submesoscale processes in both the energy cascade in the ocean and biogeochemical transport, we conduct a series of large eddy simulations of isolated mixed layer instabilities. The primary objective is to generate freely evolving velocity and density fields representative of submesoscale flows and then use these to examine potential observational sampling strategies. Mixed layer instabilities are explored in two parameter regimes: a strongly-stratified regime which results in a system with surface-intensified eddies and high vertical shear, and a weakly-stratified regime exhibiting weaker, smaller scale eddies that penetrate across the entire domain depth as Taylor columns. Analysis of a variety of mixing measures derived from both particle and tracer based sampling strategies indicates the differing importance of vertical processes in the two flow regimes.     

The effects on water mass formation of surface mixed layer timedependence and entrainment fluxes

An air-sea buoyancy flux out of the ocean between the surface outcroppings of different isopycnals must be balanced by a convergence of advective and diffusive fluxes of buoyancy across those isopycnals (Walin, 1982; Tziperman, 1986; Garrett et al., 1995). For steady conditions, the diapycnal diffusive flux due to vertical mixing in the surface mixed layer is very small, so that the advective buoyancy flux dominates (Speer, 1993; Garrett et al., 1995). The associated advective buoyancy flux can then be used to estimate the volume flux of water out of the base of the surface mixed layer. The resulting thermodynamic algorithm provides a valuable estimate of water mass formation in the ocean.In contrast, for the time-dependent real ocean with horizontal and vertical gradients of the horizontal buoyancy gradient, diurnal and seasonal mixed layer deepening and entrainment in the presence of a buoyancy jump at the base of the mixed layer contributes to the annual volume flux out of the base of the deepest (wintertime) mixed layer. The mismatch between the predictions of the ideal algorithm and measured rates of water mass formation (Speer, 1997) may thus be partly due to mixed layer processes rather than diapycnal mixing in the thermocline.     

Modeling vertical motion at ocean fronts: Are nonhydrostatic effects relevant at submesoscales?

Through a suite of three-dimensional, high-resolution numerical modeling experiments, we examine the role of nonhydrostatic effects on O(1 km) submesoscale processes at ocean fronts, with particular focus on the vertical velocity field. Several differences between nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic models are pointed out using a framework that enables precise comparison, but it is difficult to identify categorical differences between the model solutions at the grid resolutions afforded. The instantaneous vertical velocity structure is sensitive to the model choice and, even more so, to grid resolution, but the average vertical flux is similar in both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic cases.When a frontal region with horizontal density gradients is perturbed by wind, a profusion of submesoscale, O(1 km), secondary circulation features develops in the upper 50 m. Narrow, elongated cells of intense up- and down-welling are found to occur close to the surface, overlying broader regions of weaker up- and down-welling associated with the mesoscale meanders of the baroclinically unstable front. The submesoscale down-welling is considerably stronger than up-welling and is concentrated in 1–2 km width filaments within which velocities can attain magnitudes as high as 200 m day⁻¹. The submesoscale features are found to be robust at horizontal grid resolutions varying between 1 and 0.25 km and exist even in the hydrostatic model. Submesoscale circulation is difficult to observe or resolve in coarser resolution circulation models, but is likely to play a significant role in the exchange of energy and properties between the surface ocean and thermocline. Possible mechanisms for the generation of these features are investigated in a follow-on paper.     

基于高分辨率风场的海洋近惯性能通量计算——时空特征及其影响因素

基于高分辨率CFSR(climate forecast system reanalysis)风场资料、气候态海洋混合层厚度资料和卫星高度计海面高度异常资料,本文估计了大气风场向全球海洋混合层的近惯性能通量和近惯性能量输入功率,并探究了混合层厚度、风场时间分辨率、经验衰减系数和中尺度涡旋涡度对近惯性能通量和能量输入功率的影响。浮标实测风场和流速表明,本文所用的风场和阻尼平板模型可用于估计风场向全球海洋的近惯性能通量。本文计算得到的大气向全球海洋输入近惯性能量的功率为0.56TW(1TW=10~(12)W),其中北半球贡献0.22TW,南半球贡献0.34TW。在时间上,风场的近惯性能通量呈现各个半球冬季最强、夏季最弱的特征,这和西风带风场的季节变化有关。在空间上,近惯性能通量的高值海域为南、北半球西风带海洋,尤其是南大洋。混合层厚度和风场空间不均匀性使得西风带近惯性能通量呈现纬向变化,即海盆西部强于海盆东部。风场时间分辨率对近惯性能通量的估计至关重要,低时间分辨率风场对近惯性能通量的低估达到13%—30%。阻尼平板模型中的经验衰减系数对近惯性能通量估计的影响不超过5%。中尺度涡旋涡度仅改变近惯性能通量的空间分布,而对全球近惯性能量输入功率的影响可以忽略。     

The seasonal cycle of surface chlorophyll in the Peruvian upwelling system: A modelling study

The seasonal variability of surface chlorophyll in the northern Humboldt Current System is studied using satellite data, in situ observations and model simulations. The data show that surface chlorophyll concentration is highest in austral summer and decreases during austral winter, in phase opposition with coastal upwelling intensity. A regional model coupling ocean dynamics and biogeochemical cycles is used to investigate the processes which control this apparently paradoxical seasonal cycle. Model results suggest that the seasonal variability of the mixed layer depth is the main controlling factor of the seasonality. In winter, the mixed layer deepening reduces the surface chlorophyll accumulation because of a dilution effect and light limitation. In summer, biomass concentrates near the surface in the shallow mixed layer and nitrate limitation occurs, resulting in a biomass decrease in the middle of summer. Intense blooms occur during the spring restratification period, when winter light limitation relaxes, and during the fall destratification period, when the surface layer is supplied with new nutrients. Model sensitivity experiments show that the seasonal variations in insolation and surface temperature have little impact on the surface chlorophyll variability.     

Seasonal Variation of Submesoscale Flow Features in a Mesoscale Eddy-dominant Region in the East Sea

Seasonal changes in the distribution of submesoscale (SM) flow features were examined using a fine-resolution numerical simulation. The SM flows are expected to be strong where mesoscale (MS) eddies actively develop and also when the mixed layer depth (MLD) is deep due to enhanced baroclinic instability. In the East Sea (ES), MS eddies more actively develop in summer while the MLD is deeper in winter, which provided the motivation to conduct this study to test the effects of MLD and MS eddies on the SM activity in this region. Finite-scale Liapunov exponents and the vertical velocity components were employed to analyze the SM activities. It was found that the SM intensity was marked by seasonality: it is stronger in winter when the mixed layer is deep but weaker in summer - despite the greater eddy kinetic energy. This is because in summer the mixed layer is so thin that there is not enough available potential energy. When the SM activity was quantified based on parameterization, (MLD × density gradient), it was determined that the seasonal variation of MLD plays a more important role than the lateral density gradient variation on SM flow motion in the ES.