Dynamics of Deep Ocean Eastern Boundary Currents

Abstract

AbstractThe long‐standing paradigm for the large‐scale time‐averaged ocean circulation in the world oceans includes intensified currents at the western boundary, and a much slower interior flow elsewhere. However, poleward deep boundary currents in the eastern limits of the deep South Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans have been observed repeatedly at 2‐ to 4‐km depth. They carry up to a third of the total deep ocean transports, implying a significant role in climate, yet their dynamics are still not well understood. Here we develop a theoretical understanding for these currents, using a hierarchy of realistic and idealized models, focusing on the South Pacific Ocean. The deep eastern boundary current there is shown to be driven by a traditional interior balance together with a narrow boundary layer scale near the eastern boundary, which exists only when stratification and topography are both included. A simplified semianalytical vorticity model is developed for the deep eastern boundary current.