Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current
Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271, doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1. Th...
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ftwhoas:oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/4005 2023-05-15T15:15:47+02:00 Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current Sutherland, David A. Cenedese, Claudia 2009-05 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4005 en_US eng American Meteorological Society https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271 https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4005 doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271 doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 Coastal flows Buoyancy Currents Experimental design Topographic effects Article 2009 ftwhoas https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 2022-05-28T22:58:09Z Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271, doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1. This paper presents a set of laboratory experiments focused on how a buoyant coastal current flowing over a sloping bottom interacts with a canyon and what controls the separation, if any, of the current from the upstream canyon bend. The results show that the separation of a buoyant coastal current depends on the current width W relative to the radius of curvature of the bathymetry ρc. The flow moved across the mouth of the canyon (i.e., separated) for W/ρc > 1, in agreement with previous results. The present study extends previous work by examining both slope-controlled and surface-trapped currents, and using a geometry specific to investigating buoyant current–canyon interaction. The authors find that, although bottom friction is important in setting the position of the buoyant front, the separation process driven by the inertia of the flow could overcome even the strongest bathymetric influence. Application of the laboratory results to the East Greenland Current (EGC), an Arctic-origin buoyant current that is observed to flow in two branches south of Denmark Strait, suggests that the path of the EGC is influenced by the large canyons cutting across the shelf, as the range of W/ρc in the ocean spans those observed in the laboratory. What causes the formation of a two-branched EGC structure downstream of the Kangerdlugssuaq Canyon (68°N, 32°W) is still unclear, but potential mechanisms are discussed. This work was partially funded by NSF Grant OCE-0450658. DS also received support from the Academic Programs Office of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, while CC had partial support from NSF OCE-0350891. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) Arctic Greenland Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 5 1258 1271 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) |
op_collection_id |
ftwhoas |
language |
English |
topic |
Coastal flows Buoyancy Currents Experimental design Topographic effects |
spellingShingle |
Coastal flows Buoyancy Currents Experimental design Topographic effects Sutherland, David A. Cenedese, Claudia Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
topic_facet |
Coastal flows Buoyancy Currents Experimental design Topographic effects |
description |
Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271, doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1. This paper presents a set of laboratory experiments focused on how a buoyant coastal current flowing over a sloping bottom interacts with a canyon and what controls the separation, if any, of the current from the upstream canyon bend. The results show that the separation of a buoyant coastal current depends on the current width W relative to the radius of curvature of the bathymetry ρc. The flow moved across the mouth of the canyon (i.e., separated) for W/ρc > 1, in agreement with previous results. The present study extends previous work by examining both slope-controlled and surface-trapped currents, and using a geometry specific to investigating buoyant current–canyon interaction. The authors find that, although bottom friction is important in setting the position of the buoyant front, the separation process driven by the inertia of the flow could overcome even the strongest bathymetric influence. Application of the laboratory results to the East Greenland Current (EGC), an Arctic-origin buoyant current that is observed to flow in two branches south of Denmark Strait, suggests that the path of the EGC is influenced by the large canyons cutting across the shelf, as the range of W/ρc in the ocean spans those observed in the laboratory. What causes the formation of a two-branched EGC structure downstream of the Kangerdlugssuaq Canyon (68°N, 32°W) is still unclear, but potential mechanisms are discussed. This work was partially funded by NSF Grant OCE-0450658. DS also received support from the Academic Programs Office of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, while CC had partial support from NSF OCE-0350891. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sutherland, David A. Cenedese, Claudia |
author_facet |
Sutherland, David A. Cenedese, Claudia |
author_sort |
Sutherland, David A. |
title |
Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
title_short |
Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
title_full |
Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
title_fullStr |
Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
title_full_unstemmed |
Laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the East Greenland Current |
title_sort |
laboratory experiments on the interaction of a buoyant coastal current with a canyon : application to the east greenland current |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4005 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland |
op_source |
Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271 doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography 39 (2009): 1258-1271 https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4005 doi:10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JPO4028.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1258 |
op_container_end_page |
1271 |
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1766346129460428800 |