Mauricio M. Mata

East Australian Current volume transports at 30°S: Estimates from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment hydrographic sections PR11/P6 and the PCM3 current meter array

Between September 1991 and March 1994 the oceanic region off the east coast of Australia at 30°S was the subject of an intense observational program Part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, the objective was to improve our understanding of the dynamics of the East Australian Current (EAC) and to measure its volume and energy flux. The two main components were the Pacific Current Meter Array 3 (PCM3) with six moorings spanning a total distance of 120 km, and repeat, high-resolution hydrographic surveys. The long-term average fromPCM3 shows the EAC as a narrow, swift, and highly variable current centered at 40 km from the coast with strong shear in the upper 1000 m and mean southward velocities of 0.6 m s−1 in the core. The measurements also revealed a thick countercurrent underneath the poleward flow. The mean volume transport for the entire section covered by the array (between the coast and 154.4°E) was 22.1±4.6 Sv toward the south with an rms variability of 30 Sv. Combining the data from the PCM3 array with the hydrographic sections generated nine detailed snapshots of the absolute geostrophic current field. The snapshots were used to evaluate the reliability of the PCM3 data for determining volume transports. The rms difference between transports derived from direct current observations and from hydrographie data was 3.8 Sv, indicating that the PCM3 array can be used to describe the current variability despite the sparse spatial distribution of velocity measurements. Transport variability was dominated by periods between 90 and 140 days, which are attributed to eddy shedding in the region. Occasional intense northward flow events were observed where total transports reached up to 50 Sv northward. On those occasions the southward boundary current changed from being surface intensified and mainly baroclinic to northward and more barotropic, related to the northward migration past the array of the EAC coastal separation point.

A circulação oceânica de larga-escala na região oeste do Atlântico Sul com base no modelo de circulação Global OCCAM

The OCCAM (Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Modeling Project) is one of the global ocean circulation models which has been commonly used by the Brazilian oceanographic community. In most cases it is associated to regional numerical modeling studies, where it provides initial and boundary conditions for higher resolution models. The aim of this work, based on the concept of water masses, is to compare on an annual basis, the OCCAM with the use of: i) climatological temperature and salinity data from the NODC (National Oceanographic Data Center) and ii) volume transports associated with the water masses and based on values available in the literature. The selected levels of comparison were chosen to represent the core of the main water masses of the South Atlantic and the associated currents, described based on their volume transports. The main results indicate that the model is capable of representing realistically the vertical structure of the main currents and the associated water masses for the study region. In the equatorial portion of the subtropical gyre the model shows, for example, the southward zonal migration of the South Equatorial Current bifurcation with the increase of depth. According to the model and for the Tropical Water level, the bifurcation occurs between 9oS-15oS, moving to 25oS at the level of the South Atlantic Central Water and between 25oS-30oS at the level of the Antarctic Intermediate Water. The North Atlantic Deep Water, which is part of the thermohaline circulation, is represented in the model with a net southward transport between 15 Sv and 20 Sv for the region of study and is in agreement with the literature values.

On the temporal variability of the Weddell Sea Deep Water masses

Abstract The Weddell Sea is one of the key regions of the Southern Ocean with respect to climate as most of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) that occupies the world ocean deepest layers is likely to originate from this region. This study applies the Optimum Multiparameter water mass analysis to the Weddell deep waters in order to investigate their distribution and variability. The dataset used is based on the WOCE repeat sections in the area (SR04 and A12) from 1984 to 1998. The mean water mass distribution is consistent with previous knowledge of the region, along with high interannual variability. Regarding the temporal variability, it seems that the years of maximum Weddell Sea Deep Water (WSDW) contribution correspond to the lowest levels of Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW), and vice versa. In order to identify possible forcing mechanisms for such variability, the water mass temporal anomalies were compared with oceanic and atmospheric modes of variability in that region such as the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). An apparent correlation between the SAM index temporal gradients and WSBW anomalies indicate that the Weddell Sea export of dense waters to the world ocean may be linked to that index on several time scales.

Representation of the Weddell Sea deep water masses in the ocean component of the NCAR-CCSM model

Abstract We examine Weddell Sea deep water mass distributions with respect to the results from three different model runs using the oceanic component of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model (NCAR-CCSM). One run is inter-annually forced by corrected NCAR/NCEP fluxes, while the other two are forced with the annual cycle obtained from the same climatology. One of the latter runs includes an interactive sea-ice model. Optimum Multiparameter analysis is applied to separate the deep water masses in the Greenwich Meridian section (into the Weddell Sea only) to measure the degree of realism obtained in the simulations. First, we describe the distribution of the simulated deep water masses using observed water type indices. Since the observed indices do not provide an acceptable representation of the Weddell Sea deep water masses as expected, they are specifically adjusted for each simulation. Differences among the water masses’ representations in the three simulations are quantified through their root-mean-square differences. Results point out the need for better representation (and inclusion) of ice-related processes in order to improve the oceanic characteristics and variability of dense Southern Ocean water masses in the outputs of the NCAR-CCSM model, and probably in other ocean and climate models.

Uma revisão sobre a turbulência e sua modelagem

The movements are characterized by turbulent fluctuations in instantaneous speed, temperature and other scalars. As a consequence of these fluctuations, the turbulent state in fluid contributes significantly to transport momentum, heat and mass. Turbulence is defined as a state of the flow in which the time dependent variables exhibit irregular fluctuations which are seemingly random such that, in practice, only statistical properties can be recognized and subjected to analysis. The study of transport phenomena is greatly hampered by the presence of these fluctuations. Any simplification in the analysis of the effects of turbulence is extremely advantageous in physical, mathematical and numerical terms. The constant search for such simplifications is one of the main goals in the developing of new models of turbulence. This article aims to review the phenomenon of turbulence and its modeling, focusing on its theoretical foundations and on the main technical approaches used in the modeling of the phenomenon.

Os processos de conversão de energia nos oceanos: uma revisão do Diagrama de Lorenz

The energetic analysis is an important diagnostic tool for the identification of dynamic processes associated with events of energy conversion in the ocean. In brief, that analysis shows the energetic interactions which are taking place among the mean and eddy fields of a certain geophysical flow, as well as the transfers involved between the reservoirs of energy in the oceans. Those processes are detailed in the Lorenz Diagram which links, through four boxes, the reservoirs of the mean kinetic energy, eddy kinetic energy, mean potential energy and eddy potential energy of the flow. Moreover, the Diagram identifies the interactions that occur between those four energy forms, as well as the exchanges through the boundaries (sources and sinks). After an extensive review, we have identified that the specialized literature lacks in texts which detail the several mechanisms of energetic conversion among the main forms of energy in the oceans, with most publications detailing only part of those components. This article presents a detailed review on this subject, gathering information of several sources and having as main objective the step by step construction of the Lorenz Diagram, with their respective formulations. The discussion of each term of the Diagram is presented objectively thus enabling a better understanding of this tool, which is instrumental in summarizing the energy processes at a given area of the ocean.

Applying Neural Networks to Study the Mesoscale Variability of Oceanic Boundary Currents

In this paper we apply a Neural Network (NN) to distill massive oceanographic datasets down to a new space of smaller dimension, thus characterizing the essential information contained in the data. Due to the natural nonlinearity of those data, traditional multivariate analysis may not represent reality. This work presents the methodology associated with the use of a multi-layer NN with a bottleneck to extract nonlinear information of the data.

Evolution of the deep Atlantic water masses since the last glacial maximum based on a transient run of NCAR-CCSM3

During the last deglaciation (from approximately 21 to 11 thousand years ago), the high latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean underwent major changes. Besides the continuous warming, the polar and subpolar ocean surface received a large amount of meltwater from the retracting ice sheets. These changes in temperature and salinity affected deep waters, such as the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), which are formed in the Southern Ocean and in the northern North Atlantic, respectively. In this study, we present the evolution of the physical properties and distribution of the AABW and the NADW since the last glacial maximum using the results of a transient simulation with NCAR-CCSM3. In this particular model scenario with a schematic freshwater forcing, we find that modern NADW, with its characteristic salinity maximum at depth, was absent in the beginning of the deglaciation, while its intermediate version—Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water (GNAIW)—was being formed. GNAIW was a cold and relatively fresh water mass that dominated intermediate depths between 60 and 20°N. At this time, most of the deep and abyssal Atlantic basin was dominated by AABW. Within the onset of the Bølling-Allerød period, at nearly 15 thousand years ago (ka), GNAIW expanded southwards when the simulated Meridional Overturning Circulation overshoots. The transition between GNAIW and NADW ocurred after that, when AABW was fresh enough to allow NADW to sink deeper in the water column. When the NADW appears (~11 ka), AABW retracts and is constrained to lie near the bottom.

O mecanismo de autopropulsão de vórtices oceânicos: uma revisão

Oceanic eddies are effective carriers of momentum, mass, heat, of chemical and biological characteristics associated generally with their place of origin. These features exercise influence on global circulation, in the distribution of large-scale water masses and in the biology of the oceans. This influence does not only involve the transfer of energy and properties associated with the place of origin of the eddy but also their strong performance in mixing processes. The motion of eddies across the oceans are primarily driven by three factors: the self-propulsion which is intrinsic to the feature and moves it towards the west; the advection by others currents and the influence of eddies nearby. This work focuses on the first point, where the self-propulsion of isolated eddies is widely reviewed and discussed. The expression that allows the approximate calculation of the translation speed of isolated vortices is deduced. The basic equations (shallow water, the Bernoulli function and integrated meridional momentum) required for this development are presented and discussed as well as the meridional forces that act on these features in motion, where the mathematical formalism associated with each of them is also reviewed. This review shows that all isolated vortices are self-propelled towards the west, regardless of the hemisphere considered. It also shows that three meridional forces act on the eddies in motion: (1) the β force, due to the difference of the Coriolis parameter between the northern and southern hemispheres of the eddy, (2) the Coriolis force and the (3) ambient force, due to the action of the external fluid on the isolated eddy. Several analyses can be made with respect to these forces and this review also presents, as an example, a comparison of the β forces acting in anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies, with the same characteristics, moving in the southern hemisphere. It is concluded that the β force in the former is greater than the force in the latter. This study also comments aspects related with the balance of forces on particles rotating inside the eddy, where the gradient, geostrophic, quasi-geostrophic and cyclostrophic balances are discussed.