Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction
The modulation of air-sea heat fluxes by geostrophic eddies due to the stirring of temperature at the sea surface is discussed and quantified. It is argued that the damping of eddy temperature variance by such air-sea fluxes enhances the dissipation of surface temperature fields. Depending on the ti...
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American Meteorological Society
2011
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:14065 2023-05-15T13:45:11+02:00 Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction Shuckburgh, Emily Maze, Guillaume Ferreira, David Marshall, John Jones, Helen Hill, Chris 2011 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/1/2010jpo4429%252E1.pdf http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 en eng American Meteorological Society https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/1/2010jpo4429%252E1.pdf Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 Maze, Guillaume; Ferreira, David; Marshall, John; Jones, Helen; Hill, Chris. 2011 Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 41 (1). 130-144. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1> Marine Sciences Meteorology and Climatology Atmospheric Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 2023-02-04T19:28:57Z The modulation of air-sea heat fluxes by geostrophic eddies due to the stirring of temperature at the sea surface is discussed and quantified. It is argued that the damping of eddy temperature variance by such air-sea fluxes enhances the dissipation of surface temperature fields. Depending on the time scale of damping relative to that of the eddying motions, surface eddy diffusivities can be significantly enhanced over interior values. The issues are explored and quantified in a controlled setting by driving a tracer field, a proxy for sea surface temperature, with surface altimetric observations in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) of the Southern Ocean. A new, tracer-based diagnostic of eddy diffusivity is introduced, which is related to the Nakamura effective diffusivity. Using this, the mixed layer lateral eddy diffusivities associated with (i) eddy stirring and small-scale mixing and (ii) surface damping by air-sea interaction is quantified. In the ACC, a diffusivity associated with surface damping of a comparable magnitude to that associated with eddy stirring (similar to 500 m(2) s(-1)) is found. In frontal regions prevalent in the ACC, an augmentation of surface lateral eddy diffusivities of this magnitude is equivalent to an air-sea flux of 100 W m(-2) acting over a mixed layer depth of 100 m, a very significant effect. Finally, the implications for other tracer fields such as salinity, dissolved gases, and chlorophyll are discussed. Different tracers are found to have surface eddy diffusivities that differ significantly in magnitude. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Journal of Physical Oceanography 41 1 130 144 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
topic |
Marine Sciences Meteorology and Climatology Atmospheric Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Meteorology and Climatology Atmospheric Sciences Shuckburgh, Emily Maze, Guillaume Ferreira, David Marshall, John Jones, Helen Hill, Chris Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences Meteorology and Climatology Atmospheric Sciences |
description |
The modulation of air-sea heat fluxes by geostrophic eddies due to the stirring of temperature at the sea surface is discussed and quantified. It is argued that the damping of eddy temperature variance by such air-sea fluxes enhances the dissipation of surface temperature fields. Depending on the time scale of damping relative to that of the eddying motions, surface eddy diffusivities can be significantly enhanced over interior values. The issues are explored and quantified in a controlled setting by driving a tracer field, a proxy for sea surface temperature, with surface altimetric observations in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) of the Southern Ocean. A new, tracer-based diagnostic of eddy diffusivity is introduced, which is related to the Nakamura effective diffusivity. Using this, the mixed layer lateral eddy diffusivities associated with (i) eddy stirring and small-scale mixing and (ii) surface damping by air-sea interaction is quantified. In the ACC, a diffusivity associated with surface damping of a comparable magnitude to that associated with eddy stirring (similar to 500 m(2) s(-1)) is found. In frontal regions prevalent in the ACC, an augmentation of surface lateral eddy diffusivities of this magnitude is equivalent to an air-sea flux of 100 W m(-2) acting over a mixed layer depth of 100 m, a very significant effect. Finally, the implications for other tracer fields such as salinity, dissolved gases, and chlorophyll are discussed. Different tracers are found to have surface eddy diffusivities that differ significantly in magnitude. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shuckburgh, Emily Maze, Guillaume Ferreira, David Marshall, John Jones, Helen Hill, Chris |
author_facet |
Shuckburgh, Emily Maze, Guillaume Ferreira, David Marshall, John Jones, Helen Hill, Chris |
author_sort |
Shuckburgh, Emily |
title |
Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
title_short |
Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
title_full |
Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
title_fullStr |
Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
title_sort |
mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/1/2010jpo4429%252E1.pdf http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065/1/2010jpo4429%252E1.pdf Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 Maze, Guillaume; Ferreira, David; Marshall, John; Jones, Helen; Hill, Chris. 2011 Mixed layer lateral eddy fluxes mediated by air-sea interaction. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 41 (1). 130-144. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4429.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
130 |
op_container_end_page |
144 |
_version_ |
1766215666541527040 |