Abstract
Oceanic mesoscale eddies with horizontal scales of 50–300 km are the most energetic form of flows in the ocean. They are the oceanic analogues of atmospheric storms and are effective transporters of heat, nutrients, dissolved carbon, and other biochemical materials in the ocean. Although oceanic eddies have been ubiquitously observed in the world oceans since 1960s, our understanding of their three-dimensional (3D) structure, generation, and dissipation remains fragmentary due to lack of systematic full water-depth measurements. To bridge this knowledge gap, we designed and conducted a multi-months field campaign, called the South China Sea Mesoscale Eddy Experiment (S-MEE), in the northern South China Sea in 2013/2014. The S-MEE for the first time captured full-depth 3D structures of an anticyclonic and cyclonic eddy pair, which are characterized by a distinct vertical tilt of their axes. By observing the eddy evolution at an upstream versus downstream location and conducting an eddy energy budget analysis, the authors further proposed that generation of submesoscale motions most likely constitutes the dominant dissipation mechanism for the observed eddies.
Highlights
IntroductionThe lifecycle, including generation and dissipation processes, of oceanic eddies is of equal dynamical interest
Along with their structures, the lifecycle, including generation and dissipation processes, of oceanic eddies is of equal dynamical interest
Using the in-situ data collected from the Sea Mesoscale Eddy Experiment (S-MEE), this study reports the observed 3D structures and generation processes of an anticyclonic and cyclonic eddy pair in the northern South China Sea (SCS) (Fig. 1b–g) and tempts to quantify the eddy dissipation processes through the synergetic use of concurrent moored, ship-based, and satellite-derived observations
Summary
The lifecycle, including generation and dissipation processes, of oceanic eddies is of equal dynamical interest. The South China Sea (SCS), one of the largest marginal seas in the Pacific Ocean (Fig. 1a), is abundant with strong eddy activities as revealed by both observational and modelling studies[30,31,32,33]. It serves as an ideal testbed for investigating spatial structure and lifecycle of oceanic eddies. Using the in-situ data collected from the S-MEE, this study reports the observed 3D structures and generation processes of an anticyclonic and cyclonic eddy pair in the northern SCS (Fig. 1b–g) and tempts to quantify the eddy dissipation processes through the synergetic use of concurrent moored, ship-based, and satellite-derived observations
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