Striations in Marginal Seas and the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

AbstractStriations, which are jet‐like structures comprising alternating ridges and furrows within large‐scale circulations, are widely studied in the open ocean, although it is unclear whether they exist in marginal or semiclosed seas. Based on an appropriate choice of averaging time scale and cutoff wavelength, our analysis reveals striations in marginal seas, including the South China Sea (SCS), Sea of Japan, and Gulf of Mexico, and in the Mediterranean Sea (MS). Compared with the open ocean, these striations have a narrower bandwidth (about 60 km in marginal seas and 100 km in the MS), fewer zonal orientations, stronger baroclinic structure, and deeper intensification. Striations in the open ocean are usually barotropic; however, within the South China Sea and MS, they are baroclinic in the upper 1,000 m and intensified at depths greater than 3,000 m.