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contributor authorMeyer, Amelie
contributor authorSloyan, Bernadette M.
contributor authorPolzin, Kurt L.
contributor authorPhillips, Helen E.
contributor authorBindoff, Nathaniel L.
date accessioned2017-06-09T17:20:53Z
date available2017-06-09T17:20:53Z
date copyright2015/04/01
date issued2015
identifier issn0022-3670
identifier otherams-83602.pdf
identifier urihttp://onlinelibrary.yabesh.ir/handle/yetl/4226846
description abstractkey remaining challenge in oceanography is the understanding and parameterization of small-scale mixing. Evidence suggests that topographic features play a significant role in enhancing mixing in the Southern Ocean. This study uses 914 high-resolution hydrographic profiles from novel EM-APEX profiling floats to investigate turbulent mixing north of the Kerguelen Plateau, a major topographic feature in the Southern Ocean. A shear?strain finescale parameterization is applied to estimate diapycnal diffusivity in the upper 1600 m of the ocean. The indirect estimates of mixing match direct microstructure profiler observations made simultaneously. It is found that mixing intensities have strong spatial and temporal variability, ranging from O(10?6) to O(10?3) m2 s?1. This study identifies topographic roughness, current speed, and wind speed as the main factors controlling mixing intensity. Additionally, the authors find strong regional variability in mixing dynamics and enhanced mixing in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current frontal region. This enhanced mixing is attributed to dissipating internal waves generated by the interaction of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the topography of the Kerguelen Plateau. Extending the mixing observations from the Kerguelen region to the entire Southern Ocean, this study infers a large water mass transformation rate of 17 Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s?1) across the boundary of Antarctic Intermediate Water and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This work suggests that the contribution of mixing to the Southern Ocean overturning circulation budget is particularly significant in fronts.
publisherAmerican Meteorological Society
titleMixing Variability in the Southern Ocean
typeJournal Paper
journal volume45
journal issue4
journal titleJournal of Physical Oceanography
identifier doi10.1175/JPO-D-14-0110.1
journal fristpage966
journal lastpage987
treeJournal of Physical Oceanography:;2015:;Volume( 045 ):;issue: 004
contenttypeFulltext


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