Teresa K. Chereskin

Global Abyssal Mixing Inferred from Lowered ADCP Shear and CTD Strain Profiles

Abstract Internal wave–wave interaction theories and observations support a parameterization for the turbulent dissipation rate e and eddy diffusivity K that depends on internal wave shear 〈Vz2〉 and strain 〈ξz2〉 variances. Its latest incarnation is applied to about 3500 lowered ADCP/CTD profiles from the Indian, Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. Inferred diffusivities K are functions of latitude and depth, ranging from 0.03 × 10−4 m2 s−1 within 2° of the equator to (0.4–0.5) × 10−4 m2 s−1 at 50°–70°. Diffusivities K also increase with depth in tropical and subtropical waters. Diffusivities below 4500-m depth exhibit a peak of 0.7 × 10−4 m2 s−1 between 20° and 30°, latitudes where semidiurnal parametric subharmonic instability is expected to be active. Turbulence is highly heterogeneous. Though the bulk of the vertically integrated dissipation ∫e is contributed from the main pycnocline, hotspots in ∫e show some correlation with small-scale bottom roughness and near-bottom flow at sites where st...

Variability of the near-surface eddy kinetic energy in the California Current based on altimetric, drifter, and moored current data

Low-pass-filtered velocities obtained from World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) surface drifters deployed in the California Current off northern California during 1993-1995 have been compared with surface geostrophic velocity estimates made along subtracks of the TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter and with moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data. To obtain absolute geostrophic velocities, a mean sea surface height (SSH) field was estimated using the mean drifter velocities and historical hydrographic data and was added to the altimetric SSH anomalies. The correlation between collocated drifter and altimetric velocities is 0.73, significant at the 95% level. The component of the drifter velocity which was uncorrelated with the altimetric velocity was correlated with the wind in the Ekman transport sense. Monthly averages of eddy kinetic energy (EKE), estimated using all drifter and altimeter data within the domain (124°-132°W, 33°-40.5°N), show energy levels for the drifters that are about 13% greater than those for the altimeter. Drifter, altimeter, and ADCP measurements all exhibit similar seasonal cycles in EKE, with the altimeter data reaching maximum values of about 0.03 m 2 s -2 in late summer/fall. Wavenumber spectra of the altimeter velocity indicate that the velocity fluctuations were dominated by features with wavelengths of 240-370 km, while the ADCP data suggest that the temporal scales of these fluctuations are at least several months. Between 36° and 40.5°N, the region of monthly maximum EKE migrates westward to about 128°W on a seasonal timescale. This region of maximum EKE coincides with the maximum zonal SSH gradient, with increased EKE associated with increased southward flow. A simple model shows that much of the seasonal cycle of the SSH anomalies can be produced by linear processes forced by the curl of the wind stress, although the model cannot explain the offshore movement of the front.

Sustained monitoring of the southern ocean at Drake Passage: Past achievements and future priorities

Drake Passage is the narrowest constriction of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the Southern Ocean, with implications for global ocean circulation and climate. We review the long-term sustained monitoring programs that have been conducted at Drake Passage, dating back to the early part of the twentieth century. Attention is drawn to numerous breakthroughs that have been made from these programs, including (1) the first determinations of the complex ACC structure and early quantifications of its transport; (2) realization that the ACC transport is remarkably steady over interannual and longer periods, and a growing understanding of the processes responsible for this; (3) recognition of the role of coupled climate modes in dictating the horizontal transport and the role of anthropogenic processes in this; and (4) understanding of mechanisms driving changes in both the upper and lower limbs of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation and their impacts. It is argued that monitoring of this passage remains a high priority for oceanographic and climate research but that strategic improvements could be made concerning how this is conducted. In particular, long-term programs should concentrate on delivering quantifications of key variables of direct relevance to large-scale environmental issues: In this context, the time-varying overturning circulation is, if anything, even more compelling a target than the ACC flow. Further, there is a need for better international resource sharing and improved spatiotemporal coordination of the measurements. If achieved, the improvements in understanding of important climatic issues deriving from Drake Passage monitoring can be sustained into the future.

Direct evidence for an Ekman balance in the California Current

Moored acoustic Doppler current profiler velocity estimates and buoy wind observations made during a period of moderate southward winds were used to test the Ekman balance at a site in the California Current. As in prior studies, the wind-driven flow was separated from the total flow by subtraction of a deep reference current. The wind-driven flow was shown to be in an Ekman balance on daily timescales over a period of several months. The mean observed transport was to the right of the wind and agreed to within 3% in magnitude and 4° in phase with the predicted Ekman transport, although the error bar was about 20%. The mean velocity profile was a smooth spiral, qualitatively similar (although flatter) than the theoretical Ekman spiral. Prom the observed mean momentum balance, profiles of the turbulent stress and eddy viscosity were inferred. Eddy viscosity estimates within the wind mixed layer were O(100 cm2 s−1).

A Comparison of Measured and Wind-derived Ekman Transport at 11°N in the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract A comparison of measured and wind-derived ageostrophic transport is presented from a zonal transect spanning the Atlantic Ocean along 11°N. The transport per unit depth shows a striking surface maximum that decays to nearly zero at a depth of approximately 100 m. We identify this flow in the upper 100 m as the Ekman transport. The sustained values of wind stress and the penetration depth of the Ekman transport reported here are considerably greater than in previous observations, which were made in conditions of light winds. The transport of 12.0 ± 5.5 × 106 m3 s−1, calculated from the difference of geostrophic shear and shear measured by an acoustic Doppler current profiler, is in good agreement with that estimated from the shipboard winds, 8.8 ± 1.9 × 106 m3 s−1, and from climatology, 13.5 ± 0.3 × 106 m3 s−1. Qualitatively, the horizontal distribution of the wind-driven flow was best predicted by the shipboard winds. The cumulative transport increased linearly over the western three-fourths of t...

Vertical structure and transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in Drake Passage from direct velocity observations

[1] The structure of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in Drake Passage is examined using 4.5 years of shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) velocity data. The extended 1000 m depth range available from the 38 kHz ADCP allows us to investigate the vertical structure of the current. The mean observed current varies slowly with depth, while eddy kinetic energy and shear variance exhibit strong depth dependence. Objectively mapped streamlines are self‐similar with depth, consistent with an equivalent barotropic structure. Vertical wavenumber spectra of observed currents and current shear reveal intermediate wavenumber anisotropy and rotation indicative of downward energy propagation above 500 m and upward propagation below 500 m. The mean observed transport of the ACC in the upper 1000 m is estimated at 95 ± 2 Sv or 71% of the canonical total transport of 134 Sv. Mean current speeds in the ACC jets remain quite strong at 1000 m, 10–20 cm s −1 . Vertical structure functions to describe the current and extrapolate below 1000 m are explored with the aid of full‐depth profiles from lowered ADCP and a 3 year mean from the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE). A number of functions, including an exponential, are nearly equally good fits to the observations, explaining >75% of the variance. Fits to an exponentially decaying function can be extrapolated to give an estimate of 154 ± 38 Sv for the full‐depth transport.

Transport of mass, heat, salt, and nutrients in the southern California Current System: Annual cycle and interannual variability

Net fluxes of mass, heat, salt, nutrients, oxygen, and chlorophyll into a control volume within the southern California Current System (CCS) were computed from data collected on 55 cruises over a 14 year period (1984–1997). This analysis builds on an earlier work [Roemmich, 1989] by using an additional 39 cruises over 10 years, allowing for reliable estimates of the temporal variability in the fluxes on seasonal and interannual timescales and a reduction in the corresponding error budgets. A close balance was found between geostrophic convergence and Ekman divergence for the 14 year, seasonal, and interannual cruise subsets using three different wind products. Wind data taken concomitantly with the hydrographic sampling provided the best balance and hence the best flux estimates. The southern CCS was found to be a region with higher evaporation over precipitation and net heat gain by the ocean from the atmosphere (86 W m−2 in the 14 year mean) in all seasons. Significant variability in both the Ekman and geostrophic transports and the net property fluxes was found to be related to low-frequency (interpentadal and El Nino-Southern Oscillation timescale) changes in the dominant wind and circulation patterns in the CCS. Variability in primary productivity, estimated from the derived nutrient fluxes, accompanied the environmental changes. Application of this model to the ongoing data collection will further reduce the error bars on the fluxes and will allow for continued monitoring of changes in the physical and biological structure of the southern CCS.

Antarctic intermediate water and subantarctic mode water formation in the Southeast Pacific: The role of turbulent mixing

Abstract During the 2005 austral winter (late August–early October) and 2006 austral summer (February–mid-March) two intensive hydrographic surveys of the southeast Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean were completed. In this study the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate ϵ, diapycnal diffusivity κ, and buoyancy flux Jb are estimated from the CTD/O2 and XCTD profiles for each survey. Enhanced κ of O(10−3 to 10−4 m2 s−1) is found near the Subantarctic Front (SAF) during both surveys. During the winter survey, enhanced κ was also observed north of the “subduction front,” the northern boundary of the winter deep mixed layer north of the SAF. In contrast, the summer survey found enhanced κ across the entire region north of the SAF below the shallow seasonal mixed layer. The enhanced κ below the mixed layer decays rapidly with depth. A number of ocean processes are considered that may provide the energy flux necessary to support the observed diffusivity. The observed buoyancy flux (4.0 × 10−8 m2 s−3) surr...

Zonal Momentum Balance at the Equator

Abstract The conventional view of equatorial dynamics requires that the zonal equatorial wind stress be balanced, in the mean, by the vertical integral of “large-scale” terms, such as the zonal pressure gradient, mesoscale eddy flux, and mean advection, over the upper few hundred meters. It is usually presumed that the surface wind stress is communicated to the interior by turbulent processes. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates measured at 140°W during the TROPIC HEAT I experiment and a production rate–dissipation rate balance argument have been used to calculate the zonal turbulent stress at 30 to 90 m depth. The calculated turbulent stress at 30 m depth amounts to only 20% of the wind stress and decreases exponentially with depth below 30 m. Typical large-scale estimates of the zonal pressure gradient, mesoscale eddy flux, and advection have a depth scale larger than the turbulent stress, and are inconsistent with the vertical divergence of the stress as estimated from the dissipation rate measu...

Altimeter-derived variability of surface velocities in the California Current System: 1. Evaluation of TOPEX altimeter velocity resolution

In this paper, we evaluate the temporal and horizontal resolution of geostrophic surface velocities calculated from TOPEX satellite altimeter heights. Moored velocities (from vector-averaging current meters and an acoustic Doppler current profiler) at depths below the Ekman layer are used to estimate the temporal evolution and accuracy of altimeter geostrophic surface velocities at a point. Surface temperature gradients from satellite fields are used to determine the altimeters horizontal resolution of features in the velocity field. The results indicate that the altimeter resolves horizontal scales of 50–80 km in the along-track direction. The rms differences between the altimeter and current meters are 7–8 cm s−1, much of which comes from small-scale variability in the oceanic currents. We estimate the error in the altimeter velocities to have an rms magnitude of 3–5 cm s−1 or less. Uncertainties in the eddy momentum fluxes at crossovers are more difficult to evaluate and may be affected by aliasing of fluctuations with frequencies higher than the altimeters Nyquist frequency of 0.05 cycles d−1, as indicated by spectra from subsampled current meter data. The eddy statistics that are in best agreement are the velocity variances, eddy kinetic energy and the major axis of the variance ellipses. Spatial averaging of the current meter velocities produces greater agreement with all altimeter statistics and increases our confidence that the altimeters momentum fluxes and the orientation of its variance ellipses (the statistics differing the most with single moorings) represent well the statistics of spatially averaged currents (scales of 50–100 km) in the ocean. Besides evaluating altimeter performance, the study reveals several properties of the circulation in the California Current System: (1) velocity components are not isotropic but are polarized, strongly so at some locations, (2) there are instances of strong and persistent small-scale variability in the velocity, and (3) the energetic region of the California Current is isolated and surrounded by a region of lower energy starting 500–700 km offshore. This suggests that the source of the high eddy energy within 500 km of the coast is the seasonal jet that develops each spring and moves offshore to the central region of the California Current, rather than a deep-ocean eddy field approaching the coast from farther offshore.