scholarly journals Europa’s Ocean Can Tug Its Ice Shell Around

Eos ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Cartier
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Ice Shell

Sometimes ocean dynamics are a drag.

scholarly journals How does salinity shape ocean circulation and ice geometry on Enceladus and other icy satellites?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanying Kang ◽  
Tushar Mittal ◽  
Suyash Bire ◽  
Jean Michel ◽  
John Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Freezing Point ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Icy Satellites ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Ocean Salinity ◽  
Thickness Variations ◽  
Tidal Heating ◽  
Ice Shell ◽  
Shell Geometry

Abstract Of profound astrobiological interest is that not only does Enceladus have a water ocean, but it also appears to be salty, important for its likely habitability. Here, we investigate how salinity affects ocean dynamics and equilibrium ice shell geometry and use knowledge of ice shell geometry and tidal heating rates to help constrain ocean salinity. We show that the vertical overturning circulation of the ocean, driven from above by melting and freezing and the temperature dependence of the freezing point of water on pressure, has opposing signs at very low and very high salinities. In both cases, heat and freshwater converges toward the equator, where the ice is thick, acting to homogenise thickness variations. In order to maintain observed ice thickness variations, ocean heat transport should not overwhelm tidal heating rates within the ice, which are small in equatorial regions. This can only happen when the ocean’s salinity has intermediate values, order 20 psu. In this case polar-sinking driven by meridional temperature variations is largely canceled by equatorial-sinking circulation driven by salinity variations and a consistent ocean circulation, ice shell geometry and tidal heating rate can be achieved.

'Low-Order Nonlinear Ocean Dynamics'.

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Low Order

Ocean Dynamics: Vietnam DRI

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pinkel
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Dynamics

Ocean Dynamics: IWISE DRI

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pinkel
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Dynamics

Ocean Dynamics

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pinkel ◽  
Jody M. Klymak
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Dynamics

scholarly journals Global Well-Posedness of the Ocean Primitive Equations with Nonlinear Thermodynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Korn
Keyword(s):  
Equation Of State ◽  
Equations Of State ◽  
Boussinesq Equations ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Rational Functions ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Primitive Equations ◽  
Well Posedness ◽  
Nonlinear Thermodynamics

AbstractWe consider the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations of global ocean dynamics, also known as the “primitive equations”, coupled to advection–diffusion equations for temperature and salt. The system of equations is closed by an equation of state that expresses density as a function of temperature, salinity and pressure. The equation of state TEOS-10, the official description of seawater and ice properties in marine science of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, is the most accurate equations of state with respect to ocean observation and rests on the firm theoretical foundation of the Gibbs formalism of thermodynamics. We study several specifications of the TEOS-10 equation of state that comply with the assumption underlying the primitive equations. These equations of state take the form of high-order polynomials or rational functions of temperature, salinity and pressure. The ocean primitive equations with a nonlinear equation of state describe richer dynamical phenomena than the system with a linear equation of state. We prove well-posedness for the ocean primitive equations with nonlinear thermodynamics in the Sobolev space $${{\mathcal {H}}^{1}}$$ H 1 . The proof rests upon the fundamental work of Cao and Titi (Ann. Math. 166:245–267, 2007) and also on the results of Kukavica and Ziane (Nonlinearity 20:2739–2753, 2007). Alternative and older nonlinear equations of state are also considered. Our results narrow the gap between the mathematical analysis of the ocean primitive equations and the equations underlying numerical ocean models used in ocean and climate science.

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