Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts
Recent studies demonstrate that energetic sub-mesoscale fronts (10–50 km width) extend in the ocean interior, driving large vertical velocities and associated fluxes. However, diagnosing the dynamics of these deep-reaching fronts from in situ observations remains challenging because of the lack of i...
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MDPI AG
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Online Access: | https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/1/fluids-05-00145.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145 |
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ftcaltechauth:oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:105177 2023-05-15T13:38:16+02:00 Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts Siegelman, Lia Klein, Patrice Thompson, Andrew F. Torres, Hector S. Menemenlis, Dimitris 2020-08-28 application/pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/1/fluids-05-00145.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145 en eng MDPI AG https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/1/fluids-05-00145.pdf Siegelman, Lia and Klein, Patrice and Thompson, Andrew F. and Torres, Hector S. and Menemenlis, Dimitris (2020) Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts. Fluids, 5 (3). Art. No. 145. ISSN 2311-5521. doi:10.3390/fluids5030145. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145> cc_by CC-BY Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftcaltechauth https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids5030145 2021-11-18T18:59:36Z Recent studies demonstrate that energetic sub-mesoscale fronts (10–50 km width) extend in the ocean interior, driving large vertical velocities and associated fluxes. However, diagnosing the dynamics of these deep-reaching fronts from in situ observations remains challenging because of the lack of information on the 3-D structure of the horizontal velocity. Here, a realistic numerical simulation in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is used to study the dynamics of submesocale fronts in relation to velocity gradients, responsible for the formation of these fronts. Results highlight that the stirring properties of the flow at depth, which are related to the velocity gradients, can be inferred from finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) at the surface. Satellite altimetry observations of FSLE and velocity gradients are then used in combination with recent in situ observations collected by an elephant seal in the ACC to reconstruct frontal dynamics and their associated vertical velocities down to 500 m. The approach proposed here is well suited for the analysis of sub-mesoscale-resolving datasets and the design of future sub-mesoscale field campaigns. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) Antarctic The Antarctic Fluids 5 3 145 |
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Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) |
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English |
description |
Recent studies demonstrate that energetic sub-mesoscale fronts (10–50 km width) extend in the ocean interior, driving large vertical velocities and associated fluxes. However, diagnosing the dynamics of these deep-reaching fronts from in situ observations remains challenging because of the lack of information on the 3-D structure of the horizontal velocity. Here, a realistic numerical simulation in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is used to study the dynamics of submesocale fronts in relation to velocity gradients, responsible for the formation of these fronts. Results highlight that the stirring properties of the flow at depth, which are related to the velocity gradients, can be inferred from finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) at the surface. Satellite altimetry observations of FSLE and velocity gradients are then used in combination with recent in situ observations collected by an elephant seal in the ACC to reconstruct frontal dynamics and their associated vertical velocities down to 500 m. The approach proposed here is well suited for the analysis of sub-mesoscale-resolving datasets and the design of future sub-mesoscale field campaigns. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Siegelman, Lia Klein, Patrice Thompson, Andrew F. Torres, Hector S. Menemenlis, Dimitris |
spellingShingle |
Siegelman, Lia Klein, Patrice Thompson, Andrew F. Torres, Hector S. Menemenlis, Dimitris Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
author_facet |
Siegelman, Lia Klein, Patrice Thompson, Andrew F. Torres, Hector S. Menemenlis, Dimitris |
author_sort |
Siegelman, Lia |
title |
Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
title_short |
Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
title_full |
Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
title_fullStr |
Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts |
title_sort |
altimetry-based diagnosis of deep-reaching sub-mesoscale ocean fronts |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/1/fluids-05-00145.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal |
op_relation |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105177/1/fluids-05-00145.pdf Siegelman, Lia and Klein, Patrice and Thompson, Andrew F. and Torres, Hector S. and Menemenlis, Dimitris (2020) Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts. Fluids, 5 (3). Art. No. 145. ISSN 2311-5521. doi:10.3390/fluids5030145. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200831-140539145> |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids5030145 |
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Fluids |
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5 |
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3 |
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145 |
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1766103300016439296 |