Multicore structures and the splitting and merging of eddies in global oceans from satellite altimeter data

• Published in: Ocean Science
• Main Authors: W. Cui, W. Wang, J. Zhang, J. Yang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2019
• Subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation; G; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-413-2019; https://doaj.org/article/a4718f4d03284b9b932dfa092fc708a7

This study investigated the statistics of eddy splitting and merging in the global oceans based on 23 years of altimetry data. Multicore structures were identified using an improved geometric closed-contour algorithm of sea surface height. Splitting and merging events were discerned from continuous time series maps of sea level anomalies. Multicore structures represent an intermediate stage in the process of eddy evolution, similar to the generation of multiple nuclei in a cell as a preparatory phase for cell division. Generally, splitting or merging events can substantially change (by a factor of 2 or more) the eddy scale, amplitude, and eddy kinetic energy. Specifically, merging (splitting) generally causes an increase (decrease) of eddy properties. Multicore eddies were found to tend to split into two eddies with different intensities. Similarly, eddy merging is not an interaction of two equal-intensity eddies, and it tends to manifest as a strong eddy merging with a weaker one. A hybrid tracking strategy based on the eddy overlap ratio, considering both multicore and single-core eddies, was used to confirm splitting and merging events globally. The census revealed that eddy splitting and merging do not always occur most frequently in eddy-rich regions; e.g., their frequencies of occurrence in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and western boundary currents were found to be greater than in midlatitude regions (20–35 ∘ ) to the north and south. Eddy splitting and merging are caused primarily by an unstable configuration of multicore structures due to obvious current– or eddy–topography interaction, strong current variation, and eddy–mean flow interaction.