Time‐Lapse Seismic Imaging of Oceanic Fronts and Transient Lenses Within South Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

AbstractOceanic fronts play a pivotal role in controlling water mass transfer, although little is known about deep frontal structure on appropriate temporal and spatial scales. Here, we present a sequence of calibrated time‐lapse images from a three‐dimensional seismic survey that straddles the Brazil‐Malvinas Confluence—a significant feature of the meridional overturning circulation. Eight vertical transects reveal the evolution of a major front. It is manifest as a discrete planar surface that dips at less than 2° and is traceable to 1.5–2 km depth. Its shape and surface expression are consistent with sloping isopycnal surfaces of the calculated potential density field and with coeval sea surface temperature measurements, respectively. Within the top ∼1 km, where cold fresh water subducts beneath warm salty water, a series of tilted lenses are banked up against the sharply defined front. The largest of these structures is centered at 700 m depth and is cored by cold fresh water. Time‐lapse imagery demonstrates that this tilted lens grows and decays over 9 days. It has a maximum diameter of <34±0.13 km and a maximum height of <750±10 m. Beneath 1 km, where horizontal density gradients are negligible, numerous deforming lenses and filaments on length scales of 10–100 km are being swept toward the advecting front.