Lars Arneborg

Gravity Current Dynamics and Entrainment—A Process Study Based on Observations in the Arkona Basin

Abstract A 19-h time series of dissipation, stratification, and horizontal velocities has been obtained for a dense gravity current flowing into the Arkona Basin in the western Baltic Sea. The observations are compared with one-dimensional, quasi-steady theory, in which the gravity component in the flow direction is balanced by bottom friction, while that in the cross-flow direction is balanced by the Coriolis force. The observations deviate from the theory in that the bottom shear stress is more than 2 times as large as that required to balance the gravity. Several reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. A 1D turbulence model is also compared with the observations. Profiles of velocity, stratification, and dissipation rates generally show similar variations with depth as the observations, although the observed dissipation rates are somewhat larger than the modeled and the modeled transverse velocities are much larger than the observed. Subsequently, the model is used to investigate the variation of t...

Dynamics of Rotating Shallow Gravity Currents Passing through a Channel. Part I: Observation of Transverse Structure

Abstract A detailed dataset describing a quasi-stationary bottom gravity current, approximately 10 m thick and 10 km wide, passing through a channel-like constriction in the western Baltic Sea is presented. The data include full-depth, synoptic, and highly resolved transects of stratification and turbulence parameters, as well as detailed velocity transects across the gravity current at different down-channel locations. The velocity data reveal a persistent transverse circulation, creating a characteristic wedge-shaped density structure in the interface. A strong asymmetry was also found in the interior of the gravity current, where the evolution of a dynamically significant transverse density gradient to the right of the down-channel flow was observed. Spectral analysis of the near-bottom velocities showed a surprisingly strong contribution to the bottom stress from low-frequency motions with periods up to 30 min that are possibly related to internal wave effects. Cross-channel transects of shear microst...

Variability of Warm Deep Water Inflow in a Submarine Trough on the Amundsen Sea Shelf

The ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea are thinning rapidly, and the main reason for their decline appears to be warm ocean currents circulating below the ice shelves and melting these from below. Ocean currents transportwarm densewater ontothe shelf,channeledby bathymetric troughs leadingto the deep inner basins. A hydrographic mooring equipped with an upward-looking ADCP has been placed in one of these troughs on the central Amundsen shelf. The two years (2010/11) of mooring data are here used to characterize the inflow of warm deep water to the deep shelf basins. During both years, the warm layer thickness and temperature peaked in austral fall. The along-trough velocity is dominated by strong fluctuations that do not vary in the vertical. These fluctuations are correlated with the local wind, with eastward wind over the shelf and shelf break giving flow toward the ice shelves. In addition, there is a persistent flow of dense lower Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) toward the ice shelves in the bottom layer. This bottom-intensified flow appears to be driven by buoyancy forces rather than the shelfbreak wind. The years of 2010 and 2011 were characterized by a comparatively stationary Amundsen Sea low, and hence there were no strong eastward winds during winter that could drive an upwelling of warm water along the shelf break. Regardless of this, there was a persistent flow of lower CDW in the bottom layer during the two years. The average heat transport toward the ice shelves in the trough was estimated from the mooring data to be 0.95 TW.

Mixing Efficiencies in Patchy Turbulence

Abstract The efficiency of mixing in stably stratified systems where the turbulent mixing is confined to intermittent patches is investigated theoretically. It is possible to define two different flux Richardson numbers for mixing in such a system. One, the small-scale flux Richardson number, Rft, is based on the initial potential energy increase caused by small-scale turbulent mixing within the patches. This is the parameter that is obtained from laboratory and numerical experiments intended to determine turbulent mixing efficiencies. The other, the large-scale flux Richardson number, Rf, is based on the final potential energy increase, obtained after the mixed fluid has spread out laterally in the system. This is the relevant parameter for determining large-scale, irreversible, changes in the stratification caused by mixing. It is shown that the large-scale flux Richardson number is always smaller than the small-scale flux Richardson number, and that the difference can be almost a factor of 2. The commo...

Circulation and Modification of Warm Deep Water on the Central Amundsen Shelf

AbstractThe circulation pathways and subsurface cooling and freshening of warm deep water on the central Amundsen Sea shelf are deduced from hydrographic transects and four subsurface moorings. The Amundsen Sea continental shelf is intersected by the Dotson trough (DT), leading from the outer shelf to the deep basins on the inner shelf. During the measurement period, warm deep water was observed to flow southward on the eastern side of DT in approximate geostrophic balance. A northward outflow from the shelf was also observed along the bottom in the western side of DT. Estimates of the flow rate suggest that up to one-third of the inflowing warm deep water leaves the shelf area below the thermocline in this deep outflow. The deep current was 1.2°C colder and 0.3 psu fresher than the inflow, but still warm, salty, and dense compared to the overlying water mass. The temperature and salinity properties suggest that the cooling and freshening process is induced by subsurface melting of glacial ice, possibly f...

Some Implications of Ekman Layer Dynamics for Cross-Shelf Exchange in the Amundsen Sea

Theexchangeofwarm,saltyseawateracrossthecontinentalshelvesoffWestAntarcticaleadstosubsurface glacial melting at the interface between the ocean and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. One mechanism that contributesto the cross-shelf transportis Ekmantransportinduced by along-slope currentsoverthe slope and shelf break. An investigation of this process is applied to the Amundsen Sea shelfbreak region, using recently acquiredandhistoricalfielddatatoguidetheanalyses.Along-slopecurrentswereobservedattransectsacross the eastern and western reaches of the Amundsen slope. Currents in the east flowed eastward, and currents farther west flowed westward. Under the eastward-flowing currents, hydrographic isolines sloped upward paralleling the seabed. In this layer, declining buoyancy forces rather than friction were bringing the velocity to zero at the seabed.Thebasin water in the easternpart ofthe shelfwas dominatedby wateroriginating from 800‐1000-m depth off shelf, suggesting that transport of such water across the shelf frequently occurs. The authors show that arrested Ekman layers mechanism can supply deep water to the shelf break in the eastern section, where it has access to the shelf. Because no unmodified off-shelf water was found on the shelf in the western part, bottom layer Ekman transport does not appear a likely mechanism for delivery of warm deep water to the western shelf area. Warming of the warm bottom water was most pronounced on the western shelf, where the deep-water temperature increased by 0.68C during the past decade.

The Internal Seiches in Gullmar Fjord. Part I: Dynamics

Abstract Internal seiche motions with period 1–3 days in Gullmar Fjord are investigated based on mooring data with high vertical and time resolution. The period and structure of the internal seiches are well described by a simple analytical three-layer model taking into account blocking of the basin water at the sill. Energy budgets for forcing and damping of the seiches are estimated. The internal seiches are forced by direct wind stress on the surface and by internal coastal waves of frequency close to the seiches, the latter contribution being a little larger. The e-folding timescale for the internal seiche damping is approximately equal to the seiche periods, which means that the seiches are effectively damped, but also that the forcing must be in near resonance in order to maintain the observed seiche motions. In the basin water the seiches manifest themselves with large vertical motions and clear upward phase propagation. The phase propagation is related with a continuous, rather than strictly layer...

Transverse structure of turbulence in a rotating gravity current

[1] Synoptic, high-resolution, measurements of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation, current velocity and water column stratification across a fast (up to 0.7 m s -1 ) oceanic saline gravity current are presented. Our data provide, for the first time, a detailed two-dimensional picture of the turbulence structure inside a gravity current. Strong boundary-layer and interfacial turbulence can be distinguished from a quiet core, and a strong asymmetry of mixing near the outer edges of the gravity current is apparent. This asymmetry is mirrored by the computed entrainment velocities, varying approximately by a factor of 5 across the gravity current. It is argued that the asymmetry is due to rotational effects that can be clearly identified also in the velocity and density fields.

The Internal Seiches in Gullmar Fjord. Part II: Contribution to Basin Water Mixing

The mixing in the basin water (the water below sill level) of Gullmar Fjord has been investigated with the main focus on the contribution from internal seiches. A companion paper reports evidence for dissipation of internal seiche energy in the basin water after near-critical reflection from the bottom. In the present paper the magnitude and variation of basin water mixing is investigated, using the budget method. The results are related to variations of three energy sources, namely (i) the internal seiches, (ii) the internal tides, and (iii) the internal waves generated by the external seiche. The mixing efficiency, defined as the irreversible work against buoyancy forces due to mixing divided by the total mechanical energy loss from the sources mentioned above, is about 7%, similar to results obtained for other fjords. Large variations in mixing are shown to be related to large variations of the energy sources. The internal seiches are found to be important for the mixing, with a contribution that is 144% of the internal tide contribution during the most energetic period and 92% on average over the investigated periods. Including contributions from the external seiche, the wind forcing is responsible for 61% of the basin water mixing, while tidal forcing is responsible for 39%.

Dynamics of Rotating Shallow Gravity Currents Passing through a Channel. Part II: Analysis

Abstract The physics of frictional control for channelized rotating gravity currents are analyzed using an extensive dataset including hydrographic, current, and microstructure measurements from the western Baltic Sea. Rotational effects in these gravity currents, characterized by Ekman numbers of the order of one and subcritical Froude numbers, induce a complex transverse circulation that strongly affects the internal dynamics. The key component of this circulation is a geostrophically balanced transverse jet in the interface that modifies the entrainment process by (i) laterally draining the interface and (ii) providing additional interfacial shear comparable to the down-channel shear. The recirculation of mixed interfacial fluid into the interior distorts the internal density structure of the gravity current, and creates a thermal wind shear in the interior that is comparable to the observed shear. Using a theoretical model, this effect is shown to be responsible for the three-layer structure of the tr...