Satellite Radar Observations of Small Eddies in the White, Barents and Kara Seas

Analysis of space-time variability of small (submesoscale) eddies identified in satellite radar images during the warm season in the White (2009 – 2012), Barents and Kara (2007) Seas is presented. Determination of eddy locations, their diameters and vorticity type enabled to reveal the regions of re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical Oceanography
Main Authors: O.A. Atadzhanova, A.V. Zimin, D.A. Romanenkov, I.E. Kozlov
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Federal State Budget Scientific Institution «Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS» 2017
Subjects:
sub-mesoscale eddies
satellite radar images
statistics of vortex formation
the White Sea
the Barents Sea
the Kara Sea
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Svalbard
Barents Sea
Kara Sea
White Sea
Kola Peninsula
Yamal Peninsula
Solovetsky
Sverdrup Islands
dvina
Dvina Bay
kola peninsula
Novaya Zemlya
Solovetsky Islands
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.22449/1573-160X-2017-2-75-83
https://doaj.org/article/60a1d02a05ac4a979ea701f6f5cc13f5
Description
Summary:Analysis of space-time variability of small (submesoscale) eddies identified in satellite radar images during the warm season in the White (2009 – 2012), Barents and Kara (2007) Seas is presented. Determination of eddy locations, their diameters and vorticity type enabled to reveal the regions of regular eddy occurrence and assess their intraseasonal variability. In total, over 3500 eddy patterns were detected with 2970 cyclonic and 621 anticyclonic eddies. The peak of eddy activity in the Barents and White seas is observed in July, in the Kara Sea – in August. Despite a significant intraseasonal variability of eddy diameters, most eddies have diameters less than 6 km. Mean values of eddy diameter range from 2.4 km for the Kara Sea to 4.7 km for the White Sea, with 3.6 km obtained for the Barents Sea. While cyclonic eddies are observed more frequently, anticyclonic eddies are typically larger in size. In the Barents Sea eddies are regularly observed near Svalbard and north to the Kola Peninsula; in the Kara Sea – between Novaya Zemlya and the Yamal Peninsula, and close to Uyedineniya and Sverdrup islands; in the White Sea – in the Dvina Bay, northward to the Solovetsky Islands and along the Tersky coast. In all the seas a significant part of the detected eddies is found near hydrological fronts of various origin.

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