Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage
Direct measurements of turbulence levels in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean show a marked enhancement over the Phoenix Ridge. At this site, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is constricted in its flow between the southern tip of South America and the northern tip of the Antarcti...
Published in: | Journal of Physical Oceanography |
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2012
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:347640 2023-07-30T03:57:44+02:00 Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage St. Laurent, L. Naveira Garabato, A.C. Ledwell, J.R. Thurnherr, A.M. Toole, J.M. Watson, A.J. 2012 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/347640/ unknown St. Laurent, L., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Ledwell, J.R., Thurnherr, A.M., Toole, J.M. and Watson, A.J. (2012) Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 42 (12), 2143-2152. (doi:10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1>). Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1 2023-07-09T21:43:50Z Direct measurements of turbulence levels in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean show a marked enhancement over the Phoenix Ridge. At this site, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is constricted in its flow between the southern tip of South America and the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Observed turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates are enhanced in the regions corresponding to the ACC frontal zones where strong flow reaches the bottom. In these areas, turbulent dissipation levels reach 10?8 W kg?1 at abyssal and middepths. The mixing enhancement in the frontal regions is sufficient to elevate the diapycnal turbulent diffusivity acting in the deep water above the axis of the ridge to 1 × 10?4 m2 s?1. This level is an order of magnitude larger than the mixing levels observed upstream in the ACC above smoother bathymetry. Outside of the frontal regions, dissipation rates are O(10?10) W kg?1, comparable to the background levels of turbulence found throughout most mid- and low-latitude regions of the global ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage Southern Ocean University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage Journal of Physical Oceanography 42 12 2143 2152 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
language |
unknown |
description |
Direct measurements of turbulence levels in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean show a marked enhancement over the Phoenix Ridge. At this site, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is constricted in its flow between the southern tip of South America and the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Observed turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates are enhanced in the regions corresponding to the ACC frontal zones where strong flow reaches the bottom. In these areas, turbulent dissipation levels reach 10?8 W kg?1 at abyssal and middepths. The mixing enhancement in the frontal regions is sufficient to elevate the diapycnal turbulent diffusivity acting in the deep water above the axis of the ridge to 1 × 10?4 m2 s?1. This level is an order of magnitude larger than the mixing levels observed upstream in the ACC above smoother bathymetry. Outside of the frontal regions, dissipation rates are O(10?10) W kg?1, comparable to the background levels of turbulence found throughout most mid- and low-latitude regions of the global ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
St. Laurent, L. Naveira Garabato, A.C. Ledwell, J.R. Thurnherr, A.M. Toole, J.M. Watson, A.J. |
spellingShingle |
St. Laurent, L. Naveira Garabato, A.C. Ledwell, J.R. Thurnherr, A.M. Toole, J.M. Watson, A.J. Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
author_facet |
St. Laurent, L. Naveira Garabato, A.C. Ledwell, J.R. Thurnherr, A.M. Toole, J.M. Watson, A.J. |
author_sort |
St. Laurent, L. |
title |
Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
title_short |
Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
title_full |
Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
title_fullStr |
Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
title_full_unstemmed |
Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage |
title_sort |
turbulence and diapycnal mixing in drake passage |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/347640/ |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
St. Laurent, L., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Ledwell, J.R., Thurnherr, A.M., Toole, J.M. and Watson, A.J. (2012) Turbulence and Diapycnal Mixing in Drake Passage. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 42 (12), 2143-2152. (doi:10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-027.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2143 |
op_container_end_page |
2152 |
_version_ |
1772819023411544064 |