The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle
Submesoscale dynamics are typically intensified at boundaries and assumed to weaken below the mixed layer in the open ocean. Here, we assess both the seasonality and the vertical distribution of submesoscale motions in an open ocean region of the northeast Atlantic. Second-order structure functions,...
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2020
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:70388 2023-05-15T17:41:32+02:00 The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle Erickson, Zachary K Thompson, Andrew F Callies, Jörn Yu, Xiaolong Naveira Garabato, Alberto Klein, Patrice 2020-01 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/68470.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/ eng eng American Meteorological Society https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/68470.pdf doi:10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use Journal Of Physical Oceanography (0022-3670) (American Meteorological Society), 2020-01 , Vol. 50 , N. 1 , P. 145-160 Instability Mixing Small scale processes Buoy observations Profilers oceanic text Publication info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2020 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 2021-09-23T20:33:54Z Submesoscale dynamics are typically intensified at boundaries and assumed to weaken below the mixed layer in the open ocean. Here, we assess both the seasonality and the vertical distribution of submesoscale motions in an open ocean region of the northeast Atlantic. Second-order structure functions, or variance in properties separated by distance, are calculated from submesoscale-resolving ocean glider and mooring observations, as well as a 1/48° numerical ocean model. This data set combines a temporal coverage that extends through a full seasonal cycle, a horizontal resolution that captures spatial scales as small as 1 km, and vertical sampling that provides near-continuous coverage over the upper 1000 m. While kinetic and potential energies undergo a seasonal cycle, being largest during the winter, structure function slopes, influenced by dynamical characteristics, do not exhibit a strong seasonality. Furthermore, structure function slopes show weak vertical variations; there is not a strong change in properties across the base of the mixed layer. Additionally, we compare the observations to output from a high-resolution numerical model. The model does not represent variability associated with superinertial motions and does not capture an observed reduction in submesoscale kinetic energy that occurs throughout the water column in spring. Overall, these results suggest that the transfer of mixed layer submesoscale variability down to depths below the traditionally-defined mixed layer is important throughout the weakly stratified subpolar mode waters. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) Journal of Physical Oceanography 50 1 145 160 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
topic |
Instability Mixing Small scale processes Buoy observations Profilers oceanic |
spellingShingle |
Instability Mixing Small scale processes Buoy observations Profilers oceanic Erickson, Zachary K Thompson, Andrew F Callies, Jörn Yu, Xiaolong Naveira Garabato, Alberto Klein, Patrice The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
topic_facet |
Instability Mixing Small scale processes Buoy observations Profilers oceanic |
description |
Submesoscale dynamics are typically intensified at boundaries and assumed to weaken below the mixed layer in the open ocean. Here, we assess both the seasonality and the vertical distribution of submesoscale motions in an open ocean region of the northeast Atlantic. Second-order structure functions, or variance in properties separated by distance, are calculated from submesoscale-resolving ocean glider and mooring observations, as well as a 1/48° numerical ocean model. This data set combines a temporal coverage that extends through a full seasonal cycle, a horizontal resolution that captures spatial scales as small as 1 km, and vertical sampling that provides near-continuous coverage over the upper 1000 m. While kinetic and potential energies undergo a seasonal cycle, being largest during the winter, structure function slopes, influenced by dynamical characteristics, do not exhibit a strong seasonality. Furthermore, structure function slopes show weak vertical variations; there is not a strong change in properties across the base of the mixed layer. Additionally, we compare the observations to output from a high-resolution numerical model. The model does not represent variability associated with superinertial motions and does not capture an observed reduction in submesoscale kinetic energy that occurs throughout the water column in spring. Overall, these results suggest that the transfer of mixed layer submesoscale variability down to depths below the traditionally-defined mixed layer is important throughout the weakly stratified subpolar mode waters. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Erickson, Zachary K Thompson, Andrew F Callies, Jörn Yu, Xiaolong Naveira Garabato, Alberto Klein, Patrice |
author_facet |
Erickson, Zachary K Thompson, Andrew F Callies, Jörn Yu, Xiaolong Naveira Garabato, Alberto Klein, Patrice |
author_sort |
Erickson, Zachary K |
title |
The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
title_short |
The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
title_full |
The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
title_fullStr |
The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
title_full_unstemmed |
The vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
title_sort |
vertical structure of open-ocean submesoscale variability during a full seasonal cycle |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/68470.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/ |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
Journal Of Physical Oceanography (0022-3670) (American Meteorological Society), 2020-01 , Vol. 50 , N. 1 , P. 145-160 |
op_relation |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/68470.pdf doi:10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00592/70388/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0030.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
145 |
op_container_end_page |
160 |
_version_ |
1766143155017613312 |