Eddy Time Research Articles

Literary Modernism, Queer Temporality: Eddies in Time

Literary Modernism, Queer Temporality: Eddies in Time

Rhizoplegma boreale (Radiolaria): A tracer for mesoscale eddies from coastal areas

The impact of mesoscale eddies on the production of radiolarian species Rhizoplegma boreale in the central subarctic Pacific was investigated through analysis of sinking particle fluxes collected using sediment‐trap and altimetry data from satellite observations. Altimetry observations provided the locations of mesoscale eddies in time and space and indicated that mesoscale eddies propagating around sediment trap Station SA were closely related to the high R. boreale fluxes at the station. The mesoscale eddies likely provided the deep‐sea region of the central subarctic Pacific with coastal nutrient‐rich waters derived from the region around the Aleutian Islands, and influenced the productivity of microzooplankton groups at Station SA.

Impact of Alaskan Stream eddies on chlorophyll distribution in the North Pacific

The impact of the Alaskan Stream (AS) eddies on the chlorophyll a (chl-a) distribution in the central subarctic North Pacific was investigated through analysis of chl-a and altimetry data from satellite observations. Altimetry observations provided the locations of mesoscale eddies in time and space within the maps of chlorophyll distributions. The climatological chl-a distributions averaged in the area and time showing presence of AS eddies suggested that AS eddies contributed significantly to the chl-a distribution in the deep-sea region of the subarctic North Pacific. The chl-a distribution was closely related to the AS eddies regardless of whether the eddy was located in or detached from the AS. A combination of two or three AS eddies sometimes formed high chl-a concentration belts that injected chlorophyll and coastal nutrient-rich waters southward from the Aleutian Islands far into the deep-sea region of the subarctic North Pacific. These results indicate that chl-a distribution in the central subarctic North Pacific was strongly impacted by AS eddies.

Close interactions between two pairs of heton‐like vortices under sea ice

Close interactions between two pairs of vertically stacked counterrotating eddies under sea ice were investigated in numerical experiments. The numerical model contains a stratified ocean capped by an ice layer. Under the ice layer a shallow brine source produces a top cyclone and a submerged anticyclone, while a shallow freshening source generates a top anticyclone and a submerged cyclone. Ice‐exerted friction dissipates the top eddies in time, leaving submerged ones in lone existence. In this work, winning vortices are sought from a brine‐brine pair, a freshening‐brine pair, and a freshening‐freshening pair. Brine and freshening sources are made equal in strength to level the playing field. When closely paired, fission, an increase in the number of subsurface vortices, occurs from a brine‐brine pair and a freshening‐brine pair but not from a freshening‐freshening pair. Consequences of fission invariably increase the number of submerged anticyclones. A heuristic argument is given to explain this polarity. The strong interaction among closely packed eddies operates in timescales of tens of days, helping to explain the predominance of submerged anticyclones under the Arctic sea ice.