The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view
The Polar Front (PF) is studied using 4 years of data collected by a line of current‐ and pressure‐recording inverted echo sounders in Drake Passage complemented with satellite altimetry. The location of the PF is bimodal in latitude. A northern and southern PF exist at separate times, separated geo...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:gsofacpubs-1568 2023-07-30T04:03:12+02:00 The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view Foppert, Annie Donohue, Kathleen A. Watts, D. Randolph 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/602 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011333 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/gsofacpubs/article/1568/viewcontent/Foppert_PolarFront_2016.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/602 doi:10.1002/2015JC011333 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/gsofacpubs/article/1568/viewcontent/Foppert_PolarFront_2016.pdf Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications text 2016 ftunivrhodeislan https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011333 2023-07-17T18:57:49Z The Polar Front (PF) is studied using 4 years of data collected by a line of current‐ and pressure‐recording inverted echo sounders in Drake Passage complemented with satellite altimetry. The location of the PF is bimodal in latitude. A northern and southern PF exist at separate times, separated geographically by a seafloor ridge—the Shackleton Fracture Zone—and hydrographically by 17 cm of geopotential height. Expressed in stream coordinates, vertical structures of buoyancy are determined with a gravest empirical mode analysis. Baroclinic velocity referenced to zero at 3500 dbar, width, and full transport (about 70 Sv) of the jets are statistically indistinguishable; the two jets alternate carrying the baroclinic transport rather than coexisting. Influences of local bathymetry and deep cyclogenesis manifest as differences in deep reference velocity structures. Downstream reference velocities of the PF‐N and PF‐S reach maximum speeds of 0.09 and 0.06 m s−1, respectively. Buoyancy fields are indicative of upwelling and poleward residual circulation at the PF. Based on potential vorticity and mixing lengths, the northern and southern PF both act as a barrier to cross‐frontal exchange while remaining susceptible to baroclinic instability. Text Drake Passage University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone ENVELOPE(-60.000,-60.000,-60.000,-60.000) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 121 3 1771 1788 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
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ftunivrhodeislan |
language |
unknown |
description |
The Polar Front (PF) is studied using 4 years of data collected by a line of current‐ and pressure‐recording inverted echo sounders in Drake Passage complemented with satellite altimetry. The location of the PF is bimodal in latitude. A northern and southern PF exist at separate times, separated geographically by a seafloor ridge—the Shackleton Fracture Zone—and hydrographically by 17 cm of geopotential height. Expressed in stream coordinates, vertical structures of buoyancy are determined with a gravest empirical mode analysis. Baroclinic velocity referenced to zero at 3500 dbar, width, and full transport (about 70 Sv) of the jets are statistically indistinguishable; the two jets alternate carrying the baroclinic transport rather than coexisting. Influences of local bathymetry and deep cyclogenesis manifest as differences in deep reference velocity structures. Downstream reference velocities of the PF‐N and PF‐S reach maximum speeds of 0.09 and 0.06 m s−1, respectively. Buoyancy fields are indicative of upwelling and poleward residual circulation at the PF. Based on potential vorticity and mixing lengths, the northern and southern PF both act as a barrier to cross‐frontal exchange while remaining susceptible to baroclinic instability. |
format |
Text |
author |
Foppert, Annie Donohue, Kathleen A. Watts, D. Randolph |
spellingShingle |
Foppert, Annie Donohue, Kathleen A. Watts, D. Randolph The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
author_facet |
Foppert, Annie Donohue, Kathleen A. Watts, D. Randolph |
author_sort |
Foppert, Annie |
title |
The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
title_short |
The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
title_full |
The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
title_fullStr |
The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Polar Front in Drake Passage: A composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
title_sort |
polar front in drake passage: a composite‐mean stream‐coordinate view |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/602 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011333 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/gsofacpubs/article/1568/viewcontent/Foppert_PolarFront_2016.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.000,-60.000,-60.000,-60.000) |
geographic |
Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone |
geographic_facet |
Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone |
genre |
Drake Passage |
genre_facet |
Drake Passage |
op_source |
Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/602 doi:10.1002/2015JC011333 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/gsofacpubs/article/1568/viewcontent/Foppert_PolarFront_2016.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011333 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
121 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1771 |
op_container_end_page |
1788 |
_version_ |
1772814151667679232 |