南大洋凯尔盖朗海台区的流场结构及季节变化

利用冰-海耦合等密面模式模拟了南大洋凯尔盖朗海台区的环流及其季节变化.对模拟结果的分析表明,该海区的南极绕极流具有非常显着的条带状分布和非纬向性特征.南极绕极流流经凯尔盖朗海台时,在海台的南部、中部和北部表现出不同的形式,其南部的一个分支贴近南极大陆,与西向的陆坡流之间有强的相互作用.海台以北的南极绕极流的变化以年周期为主,海台以南的变化以半年周期为主,其时间变化规律与这里的风应力的变化规律是一致的.     

Dynamics of the current system in the southern Drake Passage

It has long been seen from satellite ocean color data that strong zonal gradients of phytoplankton biomass persistently occur in the southern Drake Passage during austral summer and fall, where the low productivity Antarctic Surface Water (ASW) within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) region transforms to the high productivity water. An interdisciplinary cruise was conducted in February and March 2004 to investigate potential physical and biogeochemical processes, which are responsible for transporting nutrients and metals and for enhancing primary production. To explore physical processes at both the meso- and large-scales, surface drifters, a shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and conductivity–temperature–depth sensors were used. Analyzing meso- and large-scale hydrography, circulation and eddy activities, it is shown that the topographic rise of the Shackleton Transverse Ridge plays the key role in steering an ACC branch southward west of the ridge, forming an eastward ACC jet through the gap between the ridge and Elephant Island and causing the offshelf transport of shelf waters approximately 1.2 Sv from the shelf near Elephant Island. High mesoscale eddy activities associated with this ACC southern branch and shelf waters transported off the shelf were found. The mixing between the iron-poor warmer ASW of the ACC and iron-rich waters on the shelf through horizontal transport and vertical upwelling processes provides a physical process which could be responsible for the enhanced primary productivity in this region and the southern Scotia Sea.     

Jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the central part of the Drake Passage based on the survey data in October–November of 2008

The horizontal structure of the jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is analyzed on the basis of CTD- and LADCP- sounding performed during a hydrophysical survey with a 10-mile spatial resolution in the central part of the Drake Passage in October–November of 2008. According to the modern multijet classification of the ACC, the survey area covered the zones of three jets of the South Polar Current (SPC), which is the middle branch of the ACC. The current jets revealed a fine horizontal thermohaline structure, which was manifested even in the case of the confluence of individual jets into a “superjet.”     

Tracking the Polar Front south of New Zealand using penguin dive data

Nearly 36,000 vertical temperature profiles collected by 15 king penguins are used to map oceanographic fronts south of New Zealand. There is good correspondence between Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) front locations derived from temperatures sampled in the upper 150 m along the penguin tracks and front positions inferred using maps of sea surface height (SSH). Mesoscale features detected in the SSH maps from this eddy-rich region are also reproduced in the individual temperature sections based on dive data. The foraging strategy of Macquarie Island king penguins appears to be influenced strongly by oceanographic structure: almost all the penguin dives are confined to the region close to and between the northern and southern branches of the Polar Front. Surface chlorophyll distributions also reflect the influence of the ACC fronts, with the northern branch of the Polar Front marking a boundary between low surface chlorophyll to the north and elevated values to the south.     

Pacific ocean circulation based on observation

A thorough understanding of the Pacific Ocean circulation is a necessity to solve global climate and environmental problems. Here we present a new picture of the circulation by integrating observational results. Lower and Upper Circumpolar Deep Waters (LCDW, UCDW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) of 12, 7, and 5 Sv (10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the lower and upper deep layers and the surface/intermediate layer, respectively, are transported to the North Pacific from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The flow of LCDW separates in the Central Pacific Basin into the western (4 Sv) and eastern (8 Sv) branches, and nearly half of the latter branch is further separated to flow eastward south of the Hawaiian Ridge into the Northeast Pacific Basin (NEPB). A large portion of LCDW on this southern route (4 Sv) upwells in the southern and mid-latitude eastern regions of the NEPB. The remaining eastern branch joins nearly half of the western branch; the confluence flows northward and enters the NEPB along the Aleutian Trench. Most of the LCDW on this northern route (5 Sv) upwells to the upper deep layer in the northern (in particular northeastern) region of the NEPB and is transformed into North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW). NPDW shifts southward in the upper deep layer and is modified by mixing with UCDW around the Hawaiian Islands. The modified NPDW of 13 Sv returns to the ACC. The remaining volume in the North Pacific (11 Sv) flows out to the Indian and Arctic Oceans in the surface/intermediate layer.     

The frontal and jet structure south of Africa based on the data of the SR02 section in December of 2009

The frontal structure in the region south of Africa is investigated on the basis of CTD and SADCP measurements along the SR02 hydrophysical section carried by the R/V Akademik Ioffe in December of 2009 from the Cape of Good Hope to 57° S at the Prime Meridian. Eleven jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) were revealed along the section. These were six jets of the Subantarctic Current (SAC), three jets of the South Polar Current (SPC), and two jets of the Southern Antarctic Current (SthAC). The jet combining the Weddell Front and the Southern Boundary of the ACC was also revealed. All the jets of the SPC based on the data of direct measurements were joined into a single “superjet.” The others were manifested by the local velocity maxima in the surface layer of the ocean. The subtropical water along the section from the Southern Subtropical Front to the Shelf-Slope Front near the African shore was almost completely represented by the Indian Ocean (Agulhas Retroflection) water modified by mixing with the fresher water of the southeastern periphery of the Subtropical Atlantic.     

Chaotic and regular trajectories in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Methods from chaos theory are applied to the analysis of the circulation in the Southern Ocean, using velocity fields produced by a realistic global ocean model. We plot the intersections of individual trajectories encircling Antarctica with a vertical plane in the Drake passage. This so-called Poincaré section shows a drastic difference between regular trajectories in a core region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), and chaotic, mixing trajectories in the surrounding region. It also shows that there is a region with overturning circulation of approximately 3.5 Sv in the ACC, with downwelling on the northern side and upwelling on the southern side, which may be related to the Deacon cell.     

Ocean Model Simulation of Southern Indian Ocean Surface Currents

The dynamic importance of the Southern Indian Ocean (SIO) lies in the fact that it connects the three major world oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Modeling study has been used to understand the circulation pattern of this very important region. Simulation of SIO (10°N–60°S and 30°E–120°E) is performed with z-coordinate Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) viz; MOM3.0 and the results have been compared with observed ship drift data. It is found that except near coastal boundaries and in equatorial region, the simulated current reproduce most well known current pattern such as Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), South Equatorial Current (SEC) etc. and bears a resemblance to that of the observed data; however the magnitude of the surface current is weaker in model than the observed data, which may be due to deficiency in the forcing field and boundary condition and problem with observed data. The annual mean wind stress curl computed over the oceanic domain reveals about ACC and its similar importance. The way in which the ocean responds to the windstress and vertically integrated transport using model output is fascinating and rather good.     

Ocean Model Simulation of Southern Indian Ocean Surface Currents

The dynamic importance of the Southern Indian Ocean (SIO) lies in the fact that it connects the three major world oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Modeling study has been used to understand the circulation pattern of this very important region. Simulation of SIO (10°N-60°S and 30°E-120°E) is performed with z-coordinate Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) viz; MOM3.0 and the results have been compared with observed ship drift data. It is found that except near coastal boundaries and in equatorial region, the simulated current reproduce most well known current pattern such as Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), South Equatorial Current (SEC) etc. and bears a resemblance to that of the observed data; however the magnitude of the surface current is weaker in model than the observed data, which may be due to deficiency in the forcing field and boundary condition and problem with observed data. The annual mean wind stress curl computed over the oceanic domain reveals about ACC and its similar importance. The way in which the ocean responds to the windstress and vertically integrated transport using model output is fascinating and rather good.     

Energy of the Jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and of Their Eddies in the Surface Layer of the Southern Ocean

Oceanology - The kinetic energy of six jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and of the cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies generated by these jets is studied in application to the...     

Variability of the meridional transport processes in the Southern Ocean and its possible relation to El Niño

The article deals with the influence of wind and atmospheric pressure on the barotropic variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This effect is studied using a global barotropic model under idealized and realistic atmospheric forcings. The results of barotropic modeling demonstrate that variations in the wind forcing over the ACC, together with the effects of the topography and coastline, lead to the variability in the meridional water flux in the Southern Ocean. The variability of these fluxes is negatively correlated with the wind strength over the ACC. A possible link between the short-period variability of the water flux in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean and El Niño is demonstrated using 3D ocean modeling and correlation analysis. It is shown that the variability of the meridional water flux caused by atmospheric perturbations over the ACC can lead to short-period density anomalies in the Southern Ocean north of 47°S, which later can be transferred to low latitudes by means of the wave mechanism described in [15] and strongly influence the tropical region.     

理想化南极融冰方案的海洋边界条件初探

基于气候态的SODA(simple Ocean Data Assimilation)数据,比较了气候态意义下南极附近和南极绕极流区域的海洋层结,对南极融冰问题的合理海洋边界条件进行了初步探讨.结果表明:南极融冰所注入的淡水通量在大西洋东部和印度洋海区将沿着表层路径到达南极绕极流区,在大西洋西部和太平洋的经向运动路径视淡...     

Climatic variability of transport in the upper layer of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current from hydrological and satellite data

Based on the satellite altimetry dataset of sea level anomalies, the climatic hydrological database World Ocean Atlas-2009, ocean reanalysis ECMWF ORA-S3, and wind velocity components from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, the interannual variability of Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport in the ocean upper layer is investigated for the period 1959–2008, and estimations of correlative connections between ACC transport and wind velocity components are performed. It has been revealed that the maximum (by absolute value) linear trends of ACC transport over the last 50 years are observed in the date-line region, in the Western and Eastern Atlantic and the western part of the Indian Ocean. The greatest increase in wind velocity for this period for the zonal component is observed in Drake Passage, at Greenwich meridian, in the Indian Ocean near 90° E, and in the date-line region; for the meridional component, it is in the Western and Eastern Pacific, in Drake Passage, and to the south of Africa. It has been shown that the basic energy-carrying frequencies of interannual variability of ACC transport and wind velocity components, as well as their correlative connections, correspond to the periods of basic large-scale modes of atmospheric circulation: multidecadal and interdecadal oscillations, Antarctic Circumpolar Wave, Southern Annual Mode, and Southern Oscillation. A significant influence of the wind field on the interannual variability of ACC transport is observed in the Western Pacific (140° E–160° W) and Eastern Pacific; Drake Passage and Western Atlantic (90°–30° W); in the Eastern Atlantic and Western Indian Ocean (10°–70° E). It has been shown in the Pacific Ocean that the ACC transport responds to changes of the meridional wind more promptly than to changes of the zonal wind.     

关键海区潜沉率对全球变暖停滞的可能影响

本文从潜沉率入手,探究了潜沉率在全球变暖停滞过程中可能发挥的作用。本文利用SODA资料首先分析了全球潜沉率的时空分布特征,然后基于EOF分解明确了北大西洋翻转流区域和南极绕极流区域是潜沉率变率较大的两个海区,在此基础上选出了4个关键海区研究了局地潜沉率变化与全球海表温度异常之间的相关关系,最后对关键区潜沉率变化的原因进行了初步探索。结果表明,北大西洋翻转流和南极绕极流范围内的关键区域与全球变暖停滞之间存在超前10年的相关关系,潜沉过程可能是北大西洋翻转流和南极绕极流对全球变暖停滞产生作用的一种机制。平流项在这些关键区域的潜沉率变化中起主导作用。在南极绕极流地区,海面风应力的大小与该区域的潜沉变化密切相关。     

A view of ACC fronts in streamfunction space

The fronts and water masses in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) are examined with a streamfunction projection of historical hydrographic data. The study shows that only structural criterion provides circumpolarly consistent and time-invariant definition for ACC fronts. The Polar Front position varies little in the streamfunction space, but the Subantarctic Front exhibits significant meridional deflection. Two types of the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) are identified: the Pacific-Atlantic type represents the recently-formed AAIW through the along-isopycnal subduction of polar surface waters; the Indian–Australian type represents relatively old AAIW which is strongly modified by the Agulhas water. The Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) is located in the South Pacific and south of Australia. There is evidence that the SAMW in the southeast Pacific originates from polar surface waters. Therefore the eastward freshening and cooling of SAMW is ascribed to influences from the south.     

Estimation of eddy heat transport in the global ocean from Argo data

The Argo data are used to calculate eddy(turbulence)heat transport(EHT)in the global ocean and analyze its horizontal distribution and vertical structure.We calculate the EHT by averaging all the v′,T′profiles within each 2×2 bin.The velocity and temperature anomalies are obtained by removing their climatological values from the Argo"instantaneous"values respectively.Through the Student’s t-test and an error evaluation,we obtained a total of 87%Argo bins with significant depth-integrated EHTs(D-EHTs).The results reveal a positive-and-negative alternating D-EHT pattern along the western boundary currents(WBC)and Antarctic Circumpolar Current(ACC).The zonally-integrated D-EHT(ZI-EHT)of the global ocean reaches 0.12 PW in the northern WBC band and–0.38 PW in the ACC band respectively.The strong ZI-EHT across the ACC in the global ocean is mainly caused by the southern Indian Ocean.The ZI-EHT in the above two bands accounts for a large portion of the total oceanic heat transport,which may play an important role in regulating the climate.The analysis of vertical structures of the EHT along the 35 N and45 S section reveals that the oscillating EHT pattern can reach deep in the northern WBC regions and the Agulhas Return Current(ARC)region.It also shows that the strong EHT could reach 600 m in the WBC regions and 1 000 m in the ARC region,with the maximum mainly located between 100 and 400 m depth.The results would provide useful information for improving the parameterization scheme in models.     

Long-Term Linear Meridional Shift of the Jet Structure of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current South of Africa

Oceanology - The meridional shift of the absolute dynamic topography (ADT) gradient field structure in the zone of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) south of Africa (10° E–25°...     

Currents in the Drake Passage by the observations in October–November of 2011

The currents in the Drake Passage are studied from the ADCP and CTD data acquired in a section across the Drake Passage in October-November of 2011 and from the satellite altimeter data. A complicated pattern of currents including eight jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and a system of slope and abyssal currents was found. The most interesting result is the discovery of several cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies confined to the abyss. Some reasons explaining the generation of such eddies by the meandering of the ACC jets in the upper ocean layer are presented.     

Fronts, baroclinic transport, and mesoscale variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the southeast Indian Ocean

Fronts,baroclinic transport,and mesoscale variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current(ACC) along 115°E are examined on the basis of CTD data from two hydrographic cruises occupied in 1995 as a part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment(WOCE cruise I9S) and in 2004 as a part of CLIVAR/CO2 repeat hydrography program.The integrated baroclinic transport across I9S section is(97.2×106±2.2×106) m3/s relative to the deepest common level(DCL).The net transport at the north end of I9S,determined by the south Australian circulation system,is about 16.5×106m3/s westward.Relying on a consistent set of water mass criteria and transport maxima,the ACC baroclinic transport,(117×106 ±6.7×10 6)m3/s to the east,is carried along three fronts:the Subantarctic Front(SAF) at a mean latitude of 44°-49°S carries(50.6×10 6 ±13.4×106)m3/s;the Polar Front(PF),with the northern branch(PF-N) at 50.5°S and the southern branch(PFS) at 58°S,carries(51.3×106 ±8.7×106)m3/s;finally,the southern ACC front(SACCF) and the southern boundary of the ACC(SB) consist of three cores between 59°S and 65°S that combined carry(15.2×106 ±1.8×106)m3/s.Mesoscale eddy features are identifiable in the CTD sections and tracked in concurrent maps of altimetric sea level anomalies(SLA) between 44°-48°S and 53°-57°S.Because of the remarkable mesoscale eddy features within the SAF observed in both the tracks of the cruises,the eastward transport of the SAF occurs at two latitude bands separating by 1°.Both the CTD and the altimetric data suggest that the mesoscale variability is concentrated around the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone(APFZ) and causes the ACC fronts to merge,diverge,and to fluctuate in intensity and position along their paths.     

Southern jets of the antarctic circumpolar current in the Eastern Pacific Antarctic

The advent of the era of satellite observations of the ocean surface has resulted in a considerable complication of views on the structure of currents in the World Ocean. Up to eight jets came to be distinguished in the zone of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). To identify these jets, it is conventional to use qualitative criteria relating a jet’s position to the isoline of a characteristic (temperature, for instance) on any near-horizantal surface. In the present work, based on data of sections and climatology of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) program, we examine the temperature patterns of the subsurface waters of the Southern Ocean, which are commonly used for recognition of fronts. The focus is on the southern jets of the ACC in the Eastern Pacific Antarctic. There are two groups of criteria for these jets, which imply that position of the latter is determined from a certain isotherm on the surface of the minimum (maximum) potential temperature of the Winter water (Upper Circumpolar Deep Water). However, the results of our analysis show that, in fact, the WOCE climatology data allow one to formulate temperature criteria only for the second of the above groups and only for individual sectors of the Southern Ocean-specifically, for the study area. These criteria serve as the basis for determining localization of the southern jets of the ACC in the WOCE sections in this ocean’s region. We also show that the temperature increased by about 0.1°C from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s in the layer of maximum temperature of the Upper Circumpolar Deep Water in the zone of southern jets of the ACC.