Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya
Descent and spreading of high salinity water generated by salt rejection during sea ice formation in an Antarctic coastal polynya is studied using a hydrostatic, primitive equation three-dimensional ocean model called the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modeling System (POLCOMS). The...
Published in: | Journal of Physical Oceanography |
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American Meteorological Society
2008
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Online Access: | https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/1/2007jpo3831.1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 |
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ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:34719 2024-06-23T07:45:40+00:00 Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya Wilchinsky, Alexander V. Feltham, Daniel L. 2008 text https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/1/2007jpo3831.1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 en eng American Meteorological Society https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/1/2007jpo3831.1.pdf Wilchinsky, A. V. and Feltham, D. L. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90004991.html> orcid:0000-0003-2289-014X (2008) Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 38 (5). pp. 1011-1032. ISSN 1520-0485 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1> Article PeerReviewed 2008 ftunivreading https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 2024-06-11T15:01:09Z Descent and spreading of high salinity water generated by salt rejection during sea ice formation in an Antarctic coastal polynya is studied using a hydrostatic, primitive equation three-dimensional ocean model called the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modeling System (POLCOMS). The shape of the polynya is assumed to be a rectangle 100 km long and 30 km wide, and the salinity flux into the polynya at its surface is constant. The model has been run at high horizontal spatial resolution (500 m), and numerical simulations reveal a buoyancy-driven coastal current. The coastal current is a robust feature and appears in a range of simulations designed to investigate the influence of a sloping bottom, variable bottom drag, variable vertical turbulent diffusivities, higher salinity flux, and an offshore position of the polynya. It is shown that bottom drag is the main factor determining the current width. This coastal current has not been produced with other numerical models of polynyas, which may be because these models were run at coarser resolutions. The coastal current becomes unstable upstream of its front when the polynya is adjacent to the coast. When the polynya is situated offshore, an unstable current is produced from its outset owing to the capture of cyclonic eddies. The effect of a coastal protrusion and a canyon on the current motion is investigated. In particular, due to the convex shape of the coastal protrusion, the current sheds a dipolar eddy. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading Antarctic Journal of Physical Oceanography 38 5 1011 1032 |
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Open Polar |
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CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
op_collection_id |
ftunivreading |
language |
English |
description |
Descent and spreading of high salinity water generated by salt rejection during sea ice formation in an Antarctic coastal polynya is studied using a hydrostatic, primitive equation three-dimensional ocean model called the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modeling System (POLCOMS). The shape of the polynya is assumed to be a rectangle 100 km long and 30 km wide, and the salinity flux into the polynya at its surface is constant. The model has been run at high horizontal spatial resolution (500 m), and numerical simulations reveal a buoyancy-driven coastal current. The coastal current is a robust feature and appears in a range of simulations designed to investigate the influence of a sloping bottom, variable bottom drag, variable vertical turbulent diffusivities, higher salinity flux, and an offshore position of the polynya. It is shown that bottom drag is the main factor determining the current width. This coastal current has not been produced with other numerical models of polynyas, which may be because these models were run at coarser resolutions. The coastal current becomes unstable upstream of its front when the polynya is adjacent to the coast. When the polynya is situated offshore, an unstable current is produced from its outset owing to the capture of cyclonic eddies. The effect of a coastal protrusion and a canyon on the current motion is investigated. In particular, due to the convex shape of the coastal protrusion, the current sheds a dipolar eddy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilchinsky, Alexander V. Feltham, Daniel L. |
spellingShingle |
Wilchinsky, Alexander V. Feltham, Daniel L. Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
author_facet |
Wilchinsky, Alexander V. Feltham, Daniel L. |
author_sort |
Wilchinsky, Alexander V. |
title |
Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
title_short |
Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
title_full |
Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
title_fullStr |
Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
title_full_unstemmed |
Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya |
title_sort |
generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an antarctic polynya |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/1/2007jpo3831.1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice |
op_relation |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34719/1/2007jpo3831.1.pdf Wilchinsky, A. V. and Feltham, D. L. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90004991.html> orcid:0000-0003-2289-014X (2008) Generation of a buoyancy-driven coastal current by an Antarctic Polynya. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 38 (5). pp. 1011-1032. ISSN 1520-0485 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3831.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1011 |
op_container_end_page |
1032 |
_version_ |
1802641899254710272 |