Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas
We review mechanisms and studies of exchange between the north-east Atlantic and the adjacent shelf seas. Well-developed summer upwelling and associated filaments off Portugal and north-west Spain give exchange O(3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf). Prevailing westerly winds further north drive excha...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:os973 2023-05-15T17:38:33+02:00 Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas Huthnance, J. M. Holt, J. T. Wakelin, S. L. 2018-01-15 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/os-5-621-2009 https://os.copernicus.org/articles/5/621/2009/ eng eng doi:10.5194/os-5-621-2009 https://os.copernicus.org/articles/5/621/2009/ eISSN: 1812-0792 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/os-5-621-2009 2020-07-20T16:26:31Z We review mechanisms and studies of exchange between the north-east Atlantic and the adjacent shelf seas. Well-developed summer upwelling and associated filaments off Portugal and north-west Spain give exchange O(3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf). Prevailing westerly winds further north drive exchange O(1 m 2 /s). Poleward flow along most of the upper slope has associated secondary circulation O(1 m 2 /s), meanders and eddies. Eddies are shed from slope waters into the Bay of Biscay, and local exchanges occur at shelf spurs and depressions or canyons (e.g. dense-water cascading of order 1 m 2 /s). Tidal transports are larger, but their reversal every six hours makes exchange largely ineffective except where internal tides are large and non-linear, as in the Celtic Sea where solitons carry water with exchange O(1 m 2 /s). These various physical exchanges amount to an estimated 2–3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf, between ocean and shelf. A numerical model estimate is comparable: 2.5×10 6 m 3 /s onto and off the shelf from Brittany to Norway. Mixing controls the seasonal thermocline, affecting primary production and hence fluxes and fate of organic matter. Specifically, CO 2 take-up by primary production, settling below the thermocline before respiration, and then off-shelf transport, make an effective shelf-sea "pump" (for CO 2 from the atmosphere to the deep ocean). However, knowledge of biogeochemical fluxes is generally sparse, giving scope for more measurements, model validation and estimates from models. Text North East Atlantic Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Norway Ocean Science 5 4 621 634 |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
We review mechanisms and studies of exchange between the north-east Atlantic and the adjacent shelf seas. Well-developed summer upwelling and associated filaments off Portugal and north-west Spain give exchange O(3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf). Prevailing westerly winds further north drive exchange O(1 m 2 /s). Poleward flow along most of the upper slope has associated secondary circulation O(1 m 2 /s), meanders and eddies. Eddies are shed from slope waters into the Bay of Biscay, and local exchanges occur at shelf spurs and depressions or canyons (e.g. dense-water cascading of order 1 m 2 /s). Tidal transports are larger, but their reversal every six hours makes exchange largely ineffective except where internal tides are large and non-linear, as in the Celtic Sea where solitons carry water with exchange O(1 m 2 /s). These various physical exchanges amount to an estimated 2–3 m 2 /s per unit length of shelf, between ocean and shelf. A numerical model estimate is comparable: 2.5×10 6 m 3 /s onto and off the shelf from Brittany to Norway. Mixing controls the seasonal thermocline, affecting primary production and hence fluxes and fate of organic matter. Specifically, CO 2 take-up by primary production, settling below the thermocline before respiration, and then off-shelf transport, make an effective shelf-sea "pump" (for CO 2 from the atmosphere to the deep ocean). However, knowledge of biogeochemical fluxes is generally sparse, giving scope for more measurements, model validation and estimates from models. |
format |
Text |
author |
Huthnance, J. M. Holt, J. T. Wakelin, S. L. |
spellingShingle |
Huthnance, J. M. Holt, J. T. Wakelin, S. L. Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
author_facet |
Huthnance, J. M. Holt, J. T. Wakelin, S. L. |
author_sort |
Huthnance, J. M. |
title |
Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
title_short |
Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
title_full |
Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
title_fullStr |
Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Deep ocean exchange with west-European shelf seas |
title_sort |
deep ocean exchange with west-european shelf seas |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-5-621-2009 https://os.copernicus.org/articles/5/621/2009/ |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North East Atlantic |
op_source |
eISSN: 1812-0792 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/os-5-621-2009 https://os.copernicus.org/articles/5/621/2009/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-5-621-2009 |
container_title |
Ocean Science |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
621 |
op_container_end_page |
634 |
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1766139048684945408 |