Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns
The waters of the Weddell-Scotia Confluence (WSC) lie above the rugged topography of the South Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean. Meridional exchanges across the WSC transfer water and tracers between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) to the north and the subpolar Weddell Gyre to the south. H...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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Online Access: | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/1/Meredith_et_al-2015-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf |
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:373925 2023-08-27T04:06:05+02:00 Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns Meredith, Michael P. Meijers, Andrew S. Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Brown, Peter J. Venables, Hugh J. Abrahamsen, E. Povl Jullion, Loïc Messias, Marie-José 2015-01 text https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/1/Meredith_et_al-2015-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf en English eng https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/1/Meredith_et_al-2015-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf Meredith, Michael P., Meijers, Andrew S., Naveira Garabato, Alberto C., Brown, Peter J., Venables, Hugh J., Abrahamsen, E. Povl, Jullion, Loïc and Messias, Marie-José (2015) Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (1), 547-562. (doi:10.1002/2014JC010462 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462>). cc_by_4 Article PeerReviewed 2015 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462 2023-08-03T22:20:58Z The waters of the Weddell-Scotia Confluence (WSC) lie above the rugged topography of the South Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean. Meridional exchanges across the WSC transfer water and tracers between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) to the north and the subpolar Weddell Gyre to the south. Here, we examine the role of topographic interactions in mediating these exchanges, and in modifying the waters transferred. A case study is presented using data from a free-drifting, intermediate-depth float, which circulated anticyclonically over Discovery Bank on the South Scotia Ridge for close to 4 years. Dimensional analysis indicates that the local conditions are conducive to the formation of Taylor columns. Contemporaneous ship-derived transient tracer data enable estimation of the rate of isopycnal mixing associated with this column, with values of O(1000 m2/s) obtained. Although necessarily coarse, this is of the same order as the rate of isopycnal mixing induced by transient mesoscale eddies within the ACC. A picture emerges of the Taylor column acting as a slow, steady blender, retaining the waters in the vicinity of the WSC for lengthy periods during which they can be subject to significant modification. A full regional float data set, bathymetric data, and a Southern Ocean state estimate are used to identify other potential sites for Taylor column formation. We find that they are likely to be sufficiently widespread to exert a significant influence on water mass modification and meridional fluxes across the southern edge of the ACC in this sector of the Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell South Scotia Ridge ENVELOPE(-46.500,-46.500,-60.000,-60.000) Discovery Bank ENVELOPE(72.833,72.833,-51.250,-51.250) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120 1 547 562 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
The waters of the Weddell-Scotia Confluence (WSC) lie above the rugged topography of the South Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean. Meridional exchanges across the WSC transfer water and tracers between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) to the north and the subpolar Weddell Gyre to the south. Here, we examine the role of topographic interactions in mediating these exchanges, and in modifying the waters transferred. A case study is presented using data from a free-drifting, intermediate-depth float, which circulated anticyclonically over Discovery Bank on the South Scotia Ridge for close to 4 years. Dimensional analysis indicates that the local conditions are conducive to the formation of Taylor columns. Contemporaneous ship-derived transient tracer data enable estimation of the rate of isopycnal mixing associated with this column, with values of O(1000 m2/s) obtained. Although necessarily coarse, this is of the same order as the rate of isopycnal mixing induced by transient mesoscale eddies within the ACC. A picture emerges of the Taylor column acting as a slow, steady blender, retaining the waters in the vicinity of the WSC for lengthy periods during which they can be subject to significant modification. A full regional float data set, bathymetric data, and a Southern Ocean state estimate are used to identify other potential sites for Taylor column formation. We find that they are likely to be sufficiently widespread to exert a significant influence on water mass modification and meridional fluxes across the southern edge of the ACC in this sector of the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meredith, Michael P. Meijers, Andrew S. Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Brown, Peter J. Venables, Hugh J. Abrahamsen, E. Povl Jullion, Loïc Messias, Marie-José |
spellingShingle |
Meredith, Michael P. Meijers, Andrew S. Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Brown, Peter J. Venables, Hugh J. Abrahamsen, E. Povl Jullion, Loïc Messias, Marie-José Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
author_facet |
Meredith, Michael P. Meijers, Andrew S. Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Brown, Peter J. Venables, Hugh J. Abrahamsen, E. Povl Jullion, Loïc Messias, Marie-José |
author_sort |
Meredith, Michael P. |
title |
Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
title_short |
Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
title_full |
Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
title_fullStr |
Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
title_full_unstemmed |
Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns |
title_sort |
circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the weddell-scotia confluence, southern ocean: the role of stratified taylor columns |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/1/Meredith_et_al-2015-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-46.500,-46.500,-60.000,-60.000) ENVELOPE(72.833,72.833,-51.250,-51.250) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell South Scotia Ridge Discovery Bank |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell South Scotia Ridge Discovery Bank |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373925/1/Meredith_et_al-2015-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf Meredith, Michael P., Meijers, Andrew S., Naveira Garabato, Alberto C., Brown, Peter J., Venables, Hugh J., Abrahamsen, E. Povl, Jullion, Loïc and Messias, Marie-José (2015) Circulation, retention, and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: The role of stratified Taylor columns. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (1), 547-562. (doi:10.1002/2014JC010462 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462>). |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
120 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
547 |
op_container_end_page |
562 |
_version_ |
1775346826578231296 |