Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data
The energy input to the upper ocean Ekman layer is assessed for the Southern Ocean by examining the rotary cross spectrum between wind stress and surface velocity for frequencies between 0 and 2 cpd. The wind stress is taken from European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-40 reanalysis,...
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19323/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:19323 2023-05-15T18:25:00+02:00 Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data Elipot, Shane Gille, Sarah T. 2009 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19323/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 unknown Elipot, Shane; Gille, Sarah T. 2009 Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114 (C6). C06003. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170> Marine Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 2023-02-04T19:32:13Z The energy input to the upper ocean Ekman layer is assessed for the Southern Ocean by examining the rotary cross spectrum between wind stress and surface velocity for frequencies between 0 and 2 cpd. The wind stress is taken from European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-40 reanalysis, and drifter measurements from 15 m depth are used to represent surface velocities, with an adjustment to account for the vertical structure of the upper ocean. The energy input occurs mostly through the nonzero frequencies rather than the mean. Phenomenologically, the combination of a stronger anticyclonic wind stress forcing associated with a greater anticyclonic response makes the contribution from the anticyclonic frequencies dominate the wind energy input. The latitudinal and seasonal variations of the wind energy input to the Ekman layer are closely related to the variations of the wind stress, both for the mean and for the time-varying components. The contribution from the near-inertial band follows a different trend, increasing from 30°S to about 45°S and decreasing further south, possibly a consequence of the lack of variance in this band in the drifter and wind stress data. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Southern Ocean Journal of Geophysical Research 114 C6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Marine Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Elipot, Shane Gille, Sarah T. Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences |
description |
The energy input to the upper ocean Ekman layer is assessed for the Southern Ocean by examining the rotary cross spectrum between wind stress and surface velocity for frequencies between 0 and 2 cpd. The wind stress is taken from European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-40 reanalysis, and drifter measurements from 15 m depth are used to represent surface velocities, with an adjustment to account for the vertical structure of the upper ocean. The energy input occurs mostly through the nonzero frequencies rather than the mean. Phenomenologically, the combination of a stronger anticyclonic wind stress forcing associated with a greater anticyclonic response makes the contribution from the anticyclonic frequencies dominate the wind energy input. The latitudinal and seasonal variations of the wind energy input to the Ekman layer are closely related to the variations of the wind stress, both for the mean and for the time-varying components. The contribution from the near-inertial band follows a different trend, increasing from 30°S to about 45°S and decreasing further south, possibly a consequence of the lack of variance in this band in the drifter and wind stress data. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elipot, Shane Gille, Sarah T. |
author_facet |
Elipot, Shane Gille, Sarah T. |
author_sort |
Elipot, Shane |
title |
Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
title_short |
Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
title_full |
Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
title_fullStr |
Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data |
title_sort |
estimates of wind energy input to the ekman layer in the southern ocean from surface drifter data |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19323/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Elipot, Shane; Gille, Sarah T. 2009 Estimates of wind energy input to the Ekman layer in the Southern Ocean from surface drifter data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114 (C6). C06003. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC005170 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
114 |
container_issue |
C6 |
_version_ |
1766206106895384576 |