Abstract
AbstractTo reach upwelling and downwelling zones deep within the Southern Ocean seasonal sea ice cover, water masses must move across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and through current systems including the Ross Gyre, Weddell Gyre, and Antarctic Slope Current. In this study we focus our attention on the Lagrangian exchange between the Ross Gyre and surrounding current systems. We conducted numerical experiments using five‐day 3‐D velocity fields from the Southern Ocean State Estimate with a particle tracking package to identify pathways by which waters move from near the Antarctic coastal margins or Antarctic Circumpolar Current into the interior of the Ross Gyre, and to identify the time scales of variability associated with these pathways. Waters from near the Antarctic margins enter the Ross Gyre along the western and northern boundaries of gyre until the gyre separates from the Pacific‐Antarctic Ridge near fracture zones. At this juncture, Antarctic Circumpolar Current‐derived inflow dominates the across‐gyre transport up to the Antarctic margin. Transport and exchange associated with different time‐average components of flow are calculated to determine the relative contributions of high‐ and low‐frequency and time‐mean components.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.