A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection
The presence of a persistent surface anticyclone centered at approximately 55°N, 12°W in the Rockall Trough, northeast North Atlantic, has been previously noted in satellite altimetry data. Here, we show that this surface anticyclone is the imprint of a deep, persistent, non‐stationary anticyclonic...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/1/2019JC015905.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 |
id |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:528829 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:528829 2023-05-15T17:31:04+02:00 A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection Smilenova, Angelina Gula, Jonathan Le Corre, Mathieu Houpert, Loïc Reecht, Yves 2020-10-22 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/1/2019JC015905.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 en eng https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/1/2019JC015905.pdf Smilenova, Angelina; Gula, Jonathan; Le Corre, Mathieu; Houpert, Loïc orcid:0000-0001-8750-5631 Reecht, Yves. 2020 A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125 (10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 2023-02-04T19:51:18Z The presence of a persistent surface anticyclone centered at approximately 55°N, 12°W in the Rockall Trough, northeast North Atlantic, has been previously noted in satellite altimetry data. Here, we show that this surface anticyclone is the imprint of a deep, persistent, non‐stationary anticyclonic vortex. Using wintertime 2007 and 2011 ship‐board data, we describe the anticyclone's vertical structure for the first time and find that the anticyclone core is partly made of warm and salty Mediterranean Overflow Water. The anticyclone has a radius of ~40 km, it stretches down to 2,000 m, with a velocity maximum around 500 m. To analyze the anticyclone's generating mechanism, we use a mesoscale‐resolving (~2 km) simulation, which produces a realistic pattern of the Rockall Trough anticyclone. The simulation indicates that the anticyclone is locally formed and sustained by two types of processes: wintertime convection and merger with anticyclonic vortices shed from the slope current flowing poleward along the eastern Rockall Trough slope. Intense negative vorticity filaments are generated along the Rockall Trough south‐eastern slope, and they encapsulate Mediterranean Overflow Water as they detach and grow into anticyclonic vortices. These Mediterranean Overflow Water‐rich vortices are advected into the trough, consequently merging with the Rockall Trough anticyclone and sustaining it. We suggest that the Rockall Trough anticyclone impacts regional intermediate water masses modifications, heat and salt budgets locally, and further afield into the neighboring subpolar northeast North Atlantic. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Rockall Trough ENVELOPE(-15.036,-15.036,53.825,53.825) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 125 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
The presence of a persistent surface anticyclone centered at approximately 55°N, 12°W in the Rockall Trough, northeast North Atlantic, has been previously noted in satellite altimetry data. Here, we show that this surface anticyclone is the imprint of a deep, persistent, non‐stationary anticyclonic vortex. Using wintertime 2007 and 2011 ship‐board data, we describe the anticyclone's vertical structure for the first time and find that the anticyclone core is partly made of warm and salty Mediterranean Overflow Water. The anticyclone has a radius of ~40 km, it stretches down to 2,000 m, with a velocity maximum around 500 m. To analyze the anticyclone's generating mechanism, we use a mesoscale‐resolving (~2 km) simulation, which produces a realistic pattern of the Rockall Trough anticyclone. The simulation indicates that the anticyclone is locally formed and sustained by two types of processes: wintertime convection and merger with anticyclonic vortices shed from the slope current flowing poleward along the eastern Rockall Trough slope. Intense negative vorticity filaments are generated along the Rockall Trough south‐eastern slope, and they encapsulate Mediterranean Overflow Water as they detach and grow into anticyclonic vortices. These Mediterranean Overflow Water‐rich vortices are advected into the trough, consequently merging with the Rockall Trough anticyclone and sustaining it. We suggest that the Rockall Trough anticyclone impacts regional intermediate water masses modifications, heat and salt budgets locally, and further afield into the neighboring subpolar northeast North Atlantic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smilenova, Angelina Gula, Jonathan Le Corre, Mathieu Houpert, Loïc Reecht, Yves |
spellingShingle |
Smilenova, Angelina Gula, Jonathan Le Corre, Mathieu Houpert, Loïc Reecht, Yves A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
author_facet |
Smilenova, Angelina Gula, Jonathan Le Corre, Mathieu Houpert, Loïc Reecht, Yves |
author_sort |
Smilenova, Angelina |
title |
A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
title_short |
A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
title_full |
A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
title_fullStr |
A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
title_full_unstemmed |
A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection |
title_sort |
persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the rockall trough sustained by anticyclonic vortices shed from the slope current and wintertime convection |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/1/2019JC015905.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-15.036,-15.036,53.825,53.825) |
geographic |
Rockall Trough |
geographic_facet |
Rockall Trough |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528829/1/2019JC015905.pdf Smilenova, Angelina; Gula, Jonathan; Le Corre, Mathieu; Houpert, Loïc orcid:0000-0001-8750-5631 Reecht, Yves. 2020 A persistent deep anticyclonic vortex in the Rockall Trough sustained by Anticyclonic Vortices Shed From the slope current and wintertime convection. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125 (10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015905 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
125 |
container_issue |
10 |
_version_ |
1766128385950482432 |