Eddy Activity Research Articles

Multiscale Simulation, Data Assimilation, and Forecasting in Support of the SPURS-2 Field Campaign

A multiscale simulation, data assimilation, forecasting system was developed in support of the SPURS-2 (Salinity Processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study 2) field campaign. Before the field campaign, a multiyear simulation was produced for characterizing variabilities in upper-ocean salinity, eddy activity, and other parameters and for illustrating major processes that control the region’s upper-ocean salinity at different spatial and temporal scales. This simulation assisted in formulating sampling plans. During the field experiment, the system integrated SPURS-2 measurements with those from routine operational observing networks, including Argo floats and satellite surface temperatures, salinities, and heights, and provided real-time skillful daily forecasts of ocean conditions. Forecast reports were prepared to summarize oceanic conditions and multiscale features and were delivered to the SPURS-2 chief scientist and other SPURS-2 investigators through the SPURS-2 Information System. After the field experiment, the data assimilation system was used to produce a reanalysis product to help quantify contributions of different processes to salinity variability in the region.

Controls on the Transport of Meltwater From the Southern Greenland Ice Sheet in the Labrador Sea

AbstractCoastal waters in the Labrador Sea are influenced by the seasonal input of meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet, which is predicted to more than double by the end of the century. Mechanisms controlling the offshore export of meltwater can have a significant effect on stratification and vertical stability in the Labrador Sea, being particularly important if the meltwater is transported toward the interior of the basin where winter convection occurs. Here we use a high‐resolution ocean model to show that coastal upwelling winds play a critical role transporting the meltwater offshore to about 150 km from the coast, where increased eddy activity and mean circulation can then transport the meltwater farther offshore. While meltwater discharged from West Greenland is either transported to Baffin Bay or circumnavigates the basin flowing mostly along isobaths, meltwater from East Greenland can reach the interior of the basin where it may influence stratification and winter convection whenever winds are anomalously upwelling favorable in late summer and early fall.

Generation mechanism of an observed submesoscale eddy in the Chukchi Sea

A submesoscale eddy was detected by satellite in the summer Chukchi Sea, which was generated by the salinity front slump. Multiple reanalysis data suggested that the front was generated as a result of denser water transport northward. The whole story can be separated into two stages: front genesis and eddy genesis (front slump). The front genesis event started with denser water located in southern of the Chukchi Sea. Wind-driven Ekman pumping lifted the salty water upward and increased the salinity in the upper layers. Later, the current transported the denser water northward until it arrived in the northeastern Chukchi Sea, where the fronts and submesoscale eddy were detected. The denser (lighter) water was located in the south (north) of the front, covering over 100 km and 80 m in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. The first stage was completed in 15 days. The front contained a great amount of mean available potential energy (MAPE), which was converted into eddy available potential energy (EAPE) via the EAPE production term when the salinity front slumped. EAPE was in turn converted into eddy kinetic energy (EKE) via the buoyancy flux work, and submesoscale eddies appeared. As the salinity front diminished, the salinity field became more homogenous in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The second stage was completed in 18 days. Numerical simulations suggested that the eddy activity was determined by the total depth of the fronts instead of the mixed layer depth. However, if a strong pycnocline was added between the fronts, the vertical buoyancy gradient largely increased there, which reduced the growth rate of unstable energy and produced weaker eddy activities on the denser side of the front.

Interannual Variability of the North Pacific Mixed Layer Associated with the Spring Tibetan Plateau Thermal Forcing

AbstractBy using multisourced data and two sets of sensitivity runs from the coupled general circulation model CESM1.2.0, we investigated the effects of the spring [March, April, and May (MAM)] surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau (SHTP) on the interannual variability of the North Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) and mixed layer. The results indicated that an above-normal MAM SHTP can generate a Rossby wave downstream and form an anomalous equivalent barotropic anticyclone over the North Pacific, inducing anticyclonic wind stress anomalies. As a result of Ekman transport and Ekman pumping, sea currents converge near 40°N, accompanied by weak downwelling motion. The mixed layer heat budget diagnosis indicates that the net heat fluxes, together with meridional advection anomalies, contributed significantly to changes in the mixed layer temperature (MLT). As a result, the SST anomalies (SSTAs) and MLT anomalies both present a horseshoelike pattern. In addition, the significant warm SSTAs show a maximum in the late spring, but the significant warm MLT anomalies centered under the sea surface (25-m depth) could be sustained until summer, acting like a signal storage for the anomalous spring SHTP. Moreover, the midlatitude ocean–atmosphere interaction provides a positive feedback on the development of the anomalous anticyclone over the North Pacific, since the SSTA pattern could strengthen the oceanic front and induce more active transient eddy activities. The eddy vorticity forcing that is dominant among the total atmospheric forcings tends to produce an equivalent barotropic atmospheric high pressure, which in turn intensifies the initial anomalous anticyclone.

Open-ocean polynyas and deep convection in the Southern Ocean

An open-ocean polynya is a large ice-free area surrounded by sea ice. The Maud Rise Polynya in the Southern Ocean occasionally occurs during the austral winter and spring seasons in the vicinity of Maud Rise near the Greenwich Meridian. In the mid-1970s the Maud Rise Polynya served as a precursor to the more persistent, larger Weddell Polynya associated with intensive open-ocean deep convection. However, the Maud Rise Polynya generally does not lead to a Weddell Polynya, as was the situation in the September to November of 2017 occurrence of a strong Maud Rise Polynya. Using diverse, long-term observation and reanalysis data, we found that a combination of weakly stratified ocean near Maud Rise and a wind induced spin-up of the cyclonic Weddell Gyre played a crucial role in generating the 2017 Maud Rise Polynya. More specifically, the enhanced flow over the southwestern flank of Maud Rise intensified eddy activity, weakening and raising the pycnocline. However, in 2018 the formation of a Weddell Polynya was hindered by relatively low surface salinity associated with the positive Southern Annular Mode, in contrast to the 1970s’ condition of a prolonged, negative Southern Annular Mode that induced a saltier surface layer and weaker pycnocline.

Impacts of the North Atlantic Warming Hole in Future Climate Projections: Mean Atmospheric Circulation and the North Atlantic Jet

AbstractIn future climate simulations there is a pronounced region of reduced warming in the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the North Atlantic warming hole (NAWH). This study investigates the impact of the North Atlantic warming hole on atmospheric circulation and midlatitude jets within the Community Earth System Model (CESM). A series of large-ensemble atmospheric model experiments with prescribed sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice are conducted, in which the warming hole is either filled or deepened. Two mechanisms through which the NAWH impacts the atmosphere are identified: a linear response characterized by a shallow atmospheric cooling and increase in sea level pressure shifted slightly downstream of the SST changes, and a transient eddy forced response whereby the enhanced SST gradient produced by the NAWH leads to increased transient eddy activity that propagates vertically and enhances the midlatitude jet. The relative contributions of these two mechanisms and the details of the response are strongly dependent on the season, time period, and warming hole strength. Our results indicate that the NAWH plays an important role in midlatitude atmospheric circulation changes in CESM future climate simulations.

The effect of numerical parameters on eddies in oceanic overflows: a laboratory and numerical study

Overflows in the ocean occur when dense water flows down a continental slope into less dense ambient water. It is important to study idealized and small-scale models, which allow for confidence and control of parameters. The work presented here is a direct qualitative and quantitative comparison between physical laboratory experiments and lab-scale numerical simulations. Physical parameters are varied, including the Coriolis parameter, the inflow density, and the inflow volumetric flow rate. Laboratory experiments are conducted using a rotating square tank and high-resolution camera mounted on the table in the rotating reference frame. Video results are digitized in order to compare directly to numerical simulations. The MIT General Circulation Model (MITgcm), a three-dimensional ocean model, is used for the direct numerical simulations corresponding to the specific laboratory experiments. It was found that the MITgcm was not a good match to laboratory experiments when physical parameters fell within the high eddy activity regime. However, a more extensive resolution study is needed to understand this fully. The MITgcm simulations did provide a good qualitative and quantitative match to laboratory experiments run in a low eddy activity regime. In all cases, the MITgcm simulations had more eddy activity than the laboratory experiments.

Lagrangian study of mesoscale circulation in the Alaskan Stream area and the eastern Bering Sea

The Alaskan Stream is the western boundary current in the subarctic North Pacific. The Alaskan Stream area is characterized by a significant temperature, salinity and density differences between the coastal and open-ocean waters and strong mesoscale dynamics. In this paper, we demonstrate the transport pathways of the Alaskan Stream Water in the eastern subarctic Pacific and its extension into the eastern Bering Sea from 1 October 1994 to 12 September 2016 with the help of altimetry-based Lagrangian maps. Mesoscale eddy activity along the boundary between the shelf and deep-basin in the Alaskan Stream region and the eastern Bering Sea is shown to be related to the wind stress curl in the northern North Pacific in winter. A significant correlation is found between the concentration of chlorophyll a in the Alaskan Stream area and eastern Bering Sea in August–September and the wind stress curl in the northern North Pacific in November–March. The mesoscale dynamics, forced by the wind stress curl in winter, may influence not only lower trophic-level organism biomass but also salmon abundance and catch in the study area.

The Winter Concurrent Meridional Shift of the East Asian Jet Streams and the Associated Thermal Conditions

Abstract In this study, the concurrent meridional shift of the East Asian polar-front jet (EAPJ) and the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) and the associated thermal conditions have been investigated. The concurrent meridional shift is dominantly characterized by an out-of-phase shift of the two jets, as an equatorward shift of the EAPJ and a poleward shift of the EASJ, and vice versa. This shift is linked with the dipole surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly over the Eurasian continent and a La Niña–like sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly. Associated with the dipole SAT anomaly, the meridional temperature gradient (MTG) anomaly exhibits a tripole pattern from low to high latitudes over the Eurasian continent, as well as an enhanced maximum eddy growth rate and an anomalous divergence of Eliassen–Palm flux (E-P flux) over the regions between the EAPJ and EASJ. Additionally, the synoptic-scale transient eddy activities (STEA) significantly decrease over the high latitudes and enhance between the EAPJ and EASJ. All the anomalies would benefit the equatorward and poleward shift of the EAPJ and EASJ, respectively. The MTG, E-P flux and STEA anomalies are also indicated in that associated with the Niña-like SST anomaly. Particularly, the variations are evident in low latitudes. The pathway of the stationary Rossby wave activity flux anomalies shows an eastward Rossby wave packet propagation along the southern portion of the EAPJ is associated with the SAT anomaly and that along the northern portion of the EASJ is associated with the SST anomaly. The relative contributions of the two thermal conditions have emphasized the role of the dipole SAT anomaly, based on multilinear regression.

Sensitivity of Sverdrup transport to surface wind products over the tropical North Pacific Ocean

This study investigates the sensitivity of the Sverdrup transport to the NCEP/NCAR, ERA-Interim, CCMP, and QSCAT wind products over the tropical North Pacific Ocean during the period of 2000–2008. Our analyses show that all of the S-E transports in the reanalysis/analysis winds are northward in the band of 7–9° N except the QSCAT wind, which produces more realistic southward transport as shown in the meridional geostrophic transports (MGTs) calculated from WOA13 and Argo data. At 24° N, high-resolution wind products can better estimate the meridional transport in this region. At 8° N, although the CCMP has the same high resolution as the QSCAT, it fails to produce more realistic ocean circulation just as the coarse resolution wind products do there. The unrealistically large wind stress curl and small zonal wind stress in winter in reanalysis/analysis wind products account for this discrepancy with the QSCAT. This discrepancy also suggests that the model physics used in these reanalysis wind products is deficient in depicting the ocean circulation in this region, where the ocean fronts and eddy activity are both active.

Larval influx of Diadema antillarum to the Florida Keys linked to passage of a Tortugas Eddy

Lack of recovery of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean region following a widespread epizootic in 1983–1984 has garnered great interest due to the role of this species as a grazer of macroalgae that exclude reef-building corals. In the Florida Keys, USA, previous research suggests that reestablishment of D. antillarum is limited by low fertilization success and a lack of larval supply. However, the physical mechanisms determining larval supply in the Florida Keys remain poorly resolved. Here, we use coupled biological and physical oceanographic datasets of D. antillarum larval supply to settlement collectors, sea surface temperatures and heights, and the Okubo Weiss parameter to examine a link between influx of larvae to the middle Florida Keys and Tortugas Eddy activity in the Straits of Florida. The greatest magnitude of settlement over 3 months of measurements occurred from late May to late June 2015, coinciding with the passage and dissociation of a Tortugas Eddy. Settlement occurred on collectors only at offshore bank-barrier reef sites, consistent with a temperature signal of a passing eddy at these sites. No D. antillarum were observed by divers at sites 1 yr following settlement on the collectors. The results indicate that despite the lack of population recovery, D. antillarum larval influx can occur during intermittent oceanographic events.

The Role of Ekman Currents, Geostrophy, and Stokes Drift in the Accumulation of Floating Microplastic.

Floating microplastic in the oceans is known to accumulate in the subtropical ocean gyres, but unclear is still what causes that accumulation. We investigate the role of various physical processes, such as surface Ekman and geostrophic currents, surface Stokes drift, and mesoscale eddy activity, on the global surface distribution of floating microplastic with Lagrangian particle tracking using GlobCurrent and WaveWatch III reanalysis products. Globally, the locations of microplastic accumulation (accumulation zones) are largely determined by the Ekman currents. Simulations of the North Pacific and North Atlantic show that the locations of the modeled accumulation zones using GlobCurrent Total (Ekman+Geostrophic) currents generally agree with observed microplastic distributions in the North Pacific and with the zonal distribution in the North Atlantic. Geostrophic currents and Stokes drift do not contribute to large‐scale microplastic accumulation in the subtropics, but Stokes drift leads to increased microplastic transport to Arctic regions. Since the WaveWatch III Stokes drift and GlobCurrent Ekman current data sets are not independent, combining Stokes drift with the other current components leads to an overestimation of Stokes drift effects and there is therefore a need for independent measurements of the different ocean circulation components. We investigate whether windage would be appropriate as a proxy for Stokes drift but find discrepancies in the modeled direction and magnitude. In the North Pacific, we find that microplastic tends to accumulate in regions of relatively low eddy kinetic energy, indicating low mesoscale eddy activity, but we do not see similar trends in the North Atlantic.

Direct Observations of Biological Carbon Export From Profiling Floats in the Subtropical North Atlantic

AbstractThe complex interplay of biological and physical mechanisms comprising the ocean's biological carbon pump has not been well characterized to date, due to the difficulty of observing these mechanisms in situ at adequate spatial and temporal resolution. An annual time series is presented of direct measurements of export production and particle properties collected using optical sediment trap‐equipped profiling floats cycling every 1.5–2.5 days. The observations indicate strong variability in particle export and bio‐optical properties, influenced by the spring bloom, mesoscale eddy activity, and the mixed layer pump. Temporal and vertical decoupling of fluxes at depths ranging from 150 to 1,000 m was also observed, and remineralization length scales were more variable than predicted by temperature‐ and oxygen‐based models. Net primary production was computed from float observations using a modification of the Carbon‐based Productivity Model and used to estimate export and export (e‐) ratios, which were compared to predictions of literature export models. Mechanistic models explicitly incorporating ecosystem processes and their depth dependence may perform better at reproducing regional observations collected at high temporal resolution.

Could the two anticyclonic eddies during winter 2003/2004 be reproduced and predicted in the northern South China Sea?

Abstract. Great progress has been made in understanding the mesoscale eddies and their role on the large-scale structure and circulation of the oceans. However, many questions still remain to be resolved, especially with regard to the reproductivity and predictability of mesoscale eddies. In this study, the reproductivity and predictability of mesoscale eddies in the northern South China Sea (NSCS), a region with strong eddy activity, are investigated with a focus on two typical anticyclonic eddies (AE1 and AE2) based on a HYCOM–EnOI assimilated system. The comparisons of assimilated results and observations suggest that generation, evolution, and propagation paths of AE1 and AE2 can be well reproduced and forecasted when the observed amplitude is >8 cm (or the advective nonlinearity parameter U∕c is >2), although their forcing mechanisms are quite different. However, when their amplitudes are less than 8 cm, the generation and decay of these two mesoscale eddies cannot be well reproduced and predicted by the system. This result suggests, in addition to dynamical mechanisms, that the spatial resolution of assimilation observation data and numerical models must be taken into account in reproducing and predicting mesoscale eddies in the NSCS.

Remotely Forced Decadal Physical and Biogeochemical Variability of North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water Over the Last 40 Years

AbstractHalf‐century‐long observations at the 137°E repeat hydrographic section across the western North Pacific have been analyzed to demonstrate remotely forced decadal physical and biogeochemical variability of Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) over the last 40 years. During unstable periods of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) that lagged the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation by 3–4 years, high regional eddy activity reduced the formation rate and salinity of STMW in its main formation region south of the KE. At the 137°E section south of Japan, decreasing southwestward advection of oxygen‐rich STMW from the formation region resulted in decreases of its cross‐sectional area, dissolved oxygen, pH, and aragonite saturation state and increases of nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon, among which changes of the carbon system parameters accelerated their long‐term trends. Such changes reversed and acidification slowed down during stable‐KE periods, especially in the current period since 2010 exhibiting a hiatus of acidification.

The Changing Influences of ENSO and the Pacific Meridional Mode on Mesoscale Eddies in the South China Sea

This study finds that the correlation between El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the activity of mesoscale oceanic eddies in the South China Sea (SCS) changed around 2004. The mesoscale eddy number determined from satellite altimetry observations using a geometry of the velocity vector method was significantly and negatively correlated with the Niño-3.4 index before 2004, but the correlation weakened and became insignificant afterward. Further analyses reveal that the ENSO–eddy relation is controlled by two major wind stress forcing mechanisms: one directly related to ENSO and the other indirectly related to ENSO through its subtropical precursor—the Pacific meridional modes (PMMs). Both mechanisms induce wind stress curl variations over the SCS that link ENSO to SCS eddy activities. While the direct ENSO mechanism always induces a negative ENSO–eddy correlation through the Walker circulation, the indirect mechanism is dominated by the northern PMM (nPMM), resulting in a negative ENSO–eddy correlation before 2004, and by the southern PMM (sPMM) after 2004, resulting in a positive ENSO–eddy correlation. As a result, the direct and indirect mechanisms enhance each other to produce a significant ENSO–eddy relation before 2004, but they cancel each other out, resulting in a weak ENSO–eddy relation afterward. The relative strengths of the northern and southern PMMs are the key to determining the ENSO–eddy relation and may be related to a phase change of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation.

On Material Transport by Shelfbreak Eddies

AbstractThe Lagrangian motion in the eddy field produced from an unstable retrograde jet along the shelf break is studied from idealized numerical experiments with a primitive equation model. The jet is initially in thermal wind balance with a cross-isobath density gradient and is not subjected to any atmospheric forcing. Over the course of the model integration, the jet becomes unstable and produces a quasi-stationary eddy field over a 2-month period. During this period, the cross-slope flow at the shelf break is characterized by along-slope correlation scales of O(10) km and temporal correlation scales of a few days. The relative dispersion of parcels across isobaths is found to increase with time as tb, where 1 < b < 2. This mixed diffusive–ballistic regime appears to reflect the combined effects of (i) the short length scales of velocity correlation at the shelf break and (ii) the seaward excursion of monopolar and dipolar vortices. Cross-slope dispersion is greater offshore of the front than inshore of the front, as offshore parcels are both subducted onshore below density surfaces and translated offshore with eddies. Nonetheless, the exchange of parcels across the jet remains very limited on the monthly time scale. Particles originating from the bottom experience upward displacements of a few tens of meters and seaward displacements of O(100) km, suggesting that the eddy activity engendered by an unstable along-slope jet provides another mechanism for bottom boundary layer detachment near the shelf edge.

Seasonal response of surface wind to SST perturbation in the Northern Hemisphere

The seasonal response of surface wind speed to sea surface temperature (SST) change in the Northern Hemisphere was investigated using 10 years (2002–2011) high–resolution satellite observations and reanalysis data. The results showed that correlation between surface wind speed perturbations and SST perturbations exhibits remarkable seasonal variation, with more positive correlation is stronger in the cold seasons than in the warm seasons. This seasonality in a positive correlation between SST and surface wind speed is attributable primarily to seasonal changes of oceanic and atmospheric background conditions in frontal regions. The mean SST gradient and the prevailing surface winds are strong in winter and weak in summer. Additionally, the eddy–induced response of surface wind speed is stronger in winter than in summer, although the locations and numbers of mesoscale eddies do not show obvious seasonal features. The response of surface wind speed is apparently due to stability and mixing within the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), modulated by SST perturbations. In the cold seasons, the stronger positive (negative) SST perturbations are easier to increase (decrease) the MABL height and trigger (suppress) momentum vertical mixing, contributing to the positive correlation between SST and surface wind speed. In comparison, SST perturbations are relatively weak in the warm seasons, resulting in a weak response of surface wind speed to SST changes. This result holds for each individual region with energetic eddy activity in the Northern Hemisphere.

The intrinsic nonlinear multiscale interactions among the mean flow, low frequency variability and mesoscale eddies in the Kuroshio region

Using a new functional analysis tool, multiscale window transform (MWT), and the MWT-based localized multiscale energetics analysis and canonical transfer theory, this study reconstructs the Kuroshio system on three scale windows, namely, the mean flow window, the interannual-scale (low-frequency) window, and the transient eddy window, and investigates the climatological characteristics of the intricate nonlinear interactions among these windows. Significant upscale energy transfer is observed east of Taiwan, where the mean Kuroshio current extracts kinetic energy from both the interannual and eddy windows. It is found that the canonical transfer from the interannual variability is an intrinsic source that drives the eddy activities in this region. The multiscale variabilities of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea (ECS) are mainly controlled by the interaction between the mean flow and the eddies.The mean flow undergoes mixed instabilities (i.e., both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities) in the southern ECS, while it is barotropically stable but baroclinically unstable to the north. The multiscale interactions are found to be most intense south of Japan, where strong mixed instabilities occur; both the canonical transfers from the mean flow and the interannual scale are important mechanisms to fuel the eddies. It is also found that the interannual-scale energy mainly comes from the barotropically unstable jet, rather than the upscale energy transfer from the high frequency eddies.

Intraseasonal-to-Interannual Variability of the Upper-Layer Zonal Currents in the Tropical Northwest Pacific Ocean

The upper-layer circulation in the Tropical Northwest Pacific Ocean (TNWP) is characterized by the alternating zonal currents, such as North Equatorial Current (NEC) and Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC). The variabilities of the upper-layer zonal currents in the TNWP, which were obtained directly from 75 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements and indirectly from geostrophic calculations, were investigated on intraseasonal to interannual timescales from 2006 to 2014. Surface geostrophic current derived from sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) approximated well to the in-situ measurements with ADCP that was slightly better than the absolute geostrophic current obtained from AVISO. The interannual signals related to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) were quite apparent, especially near the boundary (about 17.5°N–19°N) between NEC and STCC. We found that the eastward-flowing southern STCC develops during the decaying phase of ENSO and weakens during La Nina. Strong easterlies during strong La Nina (e.g., 2010 La Nina event) seem to influence NEC to expand further north to the southern STCC region and this coincides with the meridional migration of the Sverdrup streamfunction. The southern STCC region is profoundly influenced by the mesoscale/sub-mesoscale eddy activities, which can intensify the eastward flow of STCC and ultimately contribute to the intraseasonal signal. We found that this intraseasonal signal weakened when La Nina happened in 2010, which is presumably associated with the northward expansion of NEC. Possible factors related to the discrepancies between surface geostrophic current and sub-surface ADCP data are discussed.