scholarly journals Effects of Eddy Vorticity Forcing on the Mean State of the Kuroshio Extension

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1356-1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Delman ◽  
Julie L. McClean ◽  
Janet Sprintall ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Elena Yulaeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frames ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Instability Criterion ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Vorticity Budget ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Kuroshio

AbstractEddy–mean flow interactions along the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet are investigated using a vorticity budget of a high-resolution ocean model simulation, averaged over a 13-yr period. The simulation explicitly resolves mesoscale eddies in the KE and is forced with air–sea fluxes representing the years 1995–2007. A mean-eddy decomposition in a jet-following coordinate system removes the variability of the jet path from the eddy components of velocity; thus, eddy kinetic energy in the jet reference frame is substantially lower than in geographic coordinates and exhibits a cross-jet asymmetry that is consistent with the baroclinic instability criterion of the long-term mean field. The vorticity budget is computed in both geographic (i.e., Eulerian) and jet reference frames; the jet frame budget reveals several patterns of eddy forcing that are largely attributed to varicose modes of variability. Eddies tend to diffuse the relative vorticity minima/maxima that flank the jet, removing momentum from the fast-moving jet core and reinforcing the quasi-permanent meridional meanders in the mean jet. A pattern associated with the vertical stretching of relative vorticity in eddies indicates a deceleration (acceleration) of the jet coincident with northward (southward) quasi-permanent meanders. Eddy relative vorticity advection outside of the eastward jet core is balanced mostly by vertical stretching of the mean flow, which through baroclinic adjustment helps to drive the flanking recirculation gyres. The jet frame vorticity budget presents a well-defined picture of eddy activity, illustrating along-jet variations in eddy–mean flow interaction that may have implications for the jet’s dynamics and cross-frontal tracer fluxes.

A Comparison of Mesoscale Eddy Heat Fluxes from Observations and a High-Resolution Ocean Model Simulation of the Kuroshio Extension

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2563-2570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart P. Bishop ◽  
Frank O. Bryan
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Mesoscale Eddy ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Dynamical Mechanism ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
Conversion Rates ◽  
The Kuroshio

Abstract For the first time estimates of divergent eddy heat flux (DEHF) from a high-resolution (0.1°) simulation of the Parallel Ocean Program (POP) are compared with estimates made during the Kuroshio Extension System Study (KESS). The results from POP are in good agreement with KESS observations. POP captures the lateral and vertical structure of mean-to-eddy energy conversion rates, which range from 2 to 10 cm2 s−3. The dynamical mechanism of vertical coupling between the deep and upper ocean is the process responsible for DEHFs in POP and is in accordance with baroclinic instability observed in the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Extension. Meridional eddy heat transport values are ~14% larger in POP at its maximum value. This is likely due to the more zonal path configuration in POP. The results from this study suggest that HR POP is a useful tool for estimating eddy statistics in the Kuroshio Extension region, and thereby provide guidance in the formulation and testing of eddy mixing parameterization schemes.

scholarly journals The Instabilities and Multiscale Energetics Underlying the Mean–Interannual–Eddy Interactions in the Kuroshio Extension Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1477-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
X. San Liang
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Wave Mode ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Energy Transfers ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Interannual Fluctuations ◽  
Recirculation Gyre ◽  
The Kuroshio ◽  
Kuroshio Extension Region

AbstractUsing a recently developed energetics diagnostic methodology, namely, the localized multiscale energy and vorticity analysis (MS-EVA), this study investigates the intricate nonlinear mutual interactions among the decadally modulating mean flow, the interannual fluctuations, and the transient eddies in the Kuroshio Extension region. It is found that the mean kinetic energy maximizes immediately east of the Izu–Ogasawara Ridge, while the transient eddy kinetic energy does not peak until 400 km away downstream. The interannual variabilities, which are dominated by a jet-trapped Rossby wave mode, provide an energy reservoir comparable to the other counterparts. In the upstream, strong localized barotropic and baroclinic transfers from the mean flow to the eddies are observed, whereas those from the interannual variabilities are not significant. Besides fueling the eddies, the unstable mean jet also releases energy to the interannual-scale processes. Between 144° and 154°E, both transfers from the mean flow and the interannual variabilities are important for the eddy development. Farther downstream, eddies are found to drive the mean flow on both the kinetic energy (KE) and available potential energy (APE) maps. They also provide KE to the interannual variabilities but obtain APE from the latter. The gained eddy APE is then converted to eddy KE through buoyancy conversion. Upscale energy transfers are observed in the northern and southern recirculation gyre (RG) regions. In these regions, the interannual–eddy interaction exhibits different scenarios: the eddies lose KE to the interannual processes in the northern RG region, while gaining KE in the southern RG region.

scholarly journals Eddy–Mean Flow Interaction in the Kuroshio Extension Region

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1182-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Waterman ◽  
Nelson G. Hogg ◽  
Steven R. Jayne
Keyword(s):  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Wave Radiation ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Flow Interaction ◽  
Flow Interactions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Jet Structure ◽  
The Kuroshio

Abstract The authors use data collected by a line of tall current meter moorings deployed across the axis of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet at the location of maximum time-mean eddy kinetic energy to characterize the mean jet structure, the eddy variability, and the nature of eddy–mean flow interactions observed during the Kuroshio Extension System Study (KESS). A picture of the 2-yr record mean jet structure is presented in both geographical and stream coordinates, revealing important contrasts in jet strength, width, vertical structure, and flanking recirculation structure. Eddy variability observed is discussed in the context of some of its various sources: jet meandering, rings, waves, and jet instability. Finally, various scenarios for eddy–mean flow interaction consistent with the observations are explored. It is shown that the observed cross-jet distributions of Reynolds stresses at the KESS location are consistent with wave radiation away from the jet, with the sense of the eddy feedback effect on the mean consistent with eddy driving of the observed recirculations. The authors consider these results in the context of a broader description of eddy–mean flow interactions in the larger KE region using KESS data in combination with in situ measurements from past programs in the region and satellite altimetry. This demonstrates important consistencies in the along-stream development of time-mean and eddy properties in the KE with features of an idealized model of a western boundary current (WBC) jet used to understand the nature and importance of eddy–mean flow interactions in WBC jet systems.

scholarly journals Divergent versus Nondivergent Instabilities of Piecewise Uniform Shear Flows on the f Plane

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 1685-1699
Author(s):  
Nathan Paldor ◽  
Yona Dvorkin ◽  
Eyal Heifetz
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Delta Function ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Linear Instability ◽  
Large Radius ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Uniform Shear ◽  
Linear Shear ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Inner Region

Abstract The linear instability of a piecewise uniform shear flow is classically formulated for nondivergent perturbations on a 2D barotropic mean flow with linear shear, bounded on both sides by semi-infinite half-planes where the mean flows are uniform. The problem remains unchanged on the f plane because for nondivergent perturbations the instability is driven by vorticity gradient at the edges of the inner, linear shear region, whereas the vorticity itself does not affect it. The instability of the unbounded case is recovered when the outer regions of uniform velocity are bounded, provided that these regions are at least twice as wide as the inner region of nonzero shear. The numerical calculations demonstrate that this simple scenario is greatly modified when the perturbations’ divergence and the variation of the mean height (which geostrophically balances the mean flow) are retained in the governing equations. Although a finite deformation radius exists on the shallow water f plane, the mean vorticity gradient that governs the instability in the nondivergent case remains unchanged, so it is not obvious how the instability is modified by the inclusion of divergence in the numerical solutions of the equations. The results here show that the longwave instability of nondivergent flows is recovered by the numerical solution for divergent flows only when the radius of deformation is at least one order of magnitude larger than the width of the inner uniform shear region. Nevertheless, even at this large radius of deformation both the amplitude of the velocity eigenfunction and the distribution of vorticity and divergence differ significantly from those of nondivergent perturbations and vary strongly in the cross-stream direction. Whereas for nondivergent flows the vorticity and divergence both have a delta-function structure located at the boundaries of the inner region, in divergent flows they are spread out and attain their maximum away from the boundaries (either in the inner region or in the outer regions) in some range of the mean shear. In contrast to nondivergent flows for which the mean shear is merely a multiplicative factor of the growth rates, in divergent flows new unstable modes exist for sufficiently large mean shear with no shortwave cutoff. This unstable mode is strongly affected by the sign of the mean shear (i.e., the sign of the mean relative vorticity).

Decadal variability of the Kuroshio Extension

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guidi Zhou ◽  
Xuhua Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Relaxation Oscillation ◽  
Mesoscale Eddy ◽  
Height Anomaly ◽  
Intrinsic Variability ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The Real ◽  
Eddy Activity ◽  
The Kuroshio

<p>The decadal variability of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) is investigated using altimeter observations (AVISO) and the output of an ocean model (OFES). It is shown that the KE decadal variability is manifested in its strength, latitudinal position, and zonal extent, as well as the associated mesoscale eddy activity. Two differences between the two datasets are identified: (a) In OFES, the eddy activity positively correlates with the KE mode index when it leads by a few years, whereas in AVISO the two are negatively and concurrently correlated. (b) In OFES, the positive KE mode is associated with large meanders of the Kuroshio south of Japan, but in AVISO they are irrelevant. These differences indicate that the generation mechanism of KE's decadal variability is different in OFES and the real ocean. The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) is then decomposed into major components including the wind-driven Rossby waves and residual (intrinsic) variability. The relationship between the two components are virtually the same in OFES and in AVISO, showing a negative correlation when the wind-driven part leads by a few years. Further diagnostics based on OFES reveals that the residual SSHA originates from the downstream region over the Shatsky Rise, slowly propagates westward, and is driven by eddy potential energy transfer. The OFES results partly conform to the intrinsic relaxation oscillation theory put forth by idealized model analyses, but in the latter the SSHA signal originates from the upstream Kuroshio. A new mechanism is then proposed for OFES: the decadal variability of the KE is first a result of the intrinsic relaxation oscillation probably excited by wind forcing, which regulates the strength of the KE’s inflow and thus modulates the downstream topography interaction, resulting in different downstream mesoscale eddy activity that further feeds back on the mean-flow. The mechanism for the real ocean is also reassessed.</p>

scholarly journals The Contribution of Striations to the Eddy Energy Budget and Mixing: Diagnostic Frameworks and Results in a Quasigeostrophic Barotropic System with Mean Flow

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 2095-2113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru Chen ◽  
Glenn R. Flierl
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Invariance Property ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Eddy Diffusivities ◽  
Energy Cascades ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Flow Theories ◽  
Noise Forcing

AbstractLow-frequency oceanic motions have banded structures termed “striations.” Since these striations embedded in large-scale gyre flows can have large amplitudes, the authors investigated the effect of mean flow on their directions as well as their contribution to energetics and mixing using a β-plane, barotropic, quasigeostrophic ocean model. In spite of the model simplicity, striations are always found to exist regardless of the imposed barotropic mean flow. However, their properties are sensitive to the mean flow. Rhines jets move with the mean flow and are not necessarily striations. If the meridional component of the mean flow is large, Rhines jets become high-frequency motions; low-frequency striations still exist, but they are nonzonal, have small magnitudes, and contribute little to energetics and mixing. Otherwise, striations are zonal, dominated by Rhines jets, and contribute significantly to energetics and mixing. This study extends the theory of β-plane, barotropic turbulence, driven by white noise forcing at small scales, to include the effect of a constant mean flow. Theories developed in this study, based upon the Galilean invariance property, illustrate that the barotropic mean flow has no effect on total mixing rates, but does affect the energy cascades in the frequency domain. Diagnostic frameworks developed here can be useful to quantify the striations’ contribution to energetics and mixing in the ocean and more realistic models. A novel diagnostic formula is applied to estimating eddy diffusivities.

Divergent Eddy Heat Fluxes in the Kuroshio Extension at 144°–148°E. Part II: Spatiotemporal Variability

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2416-2431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart P. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Regime Shift ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Unstable State ◽  
Unstable Regime ◽  
Stable Regime ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Kuroshio

Abstract The Kuroshio Extension System Study (KESS) provided 16 months of observations to quantify divergent eddy heat flux (DEHF) from a mesoscale-resolving array of current- and pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders. KESS observations captured a regime shift from a stable to unstable state. There is a distinct difference in the spatial structure of DEHFs between the two regimes. The stable regime had weak downgradient DEHFs. The unstable regime exhibited asymmetry along the mean path with strong downgradient DEHFs upstream of a mean trough at ~147°E. The spatial structure of DEHFs resulted from episodic mesoscale processes. The first 6 months were during the stable regime in which fluxes were associated with eastward-propagating 10–15-day upper meanders. After 6 months, the Kuroshio Extension underwent a regime shift from a stable to unstable state. This regime shift corresponded with a red shift in mesoscale phenomena with the prevalence of ~40-day deep externally generated eddies. DEHF amplitudes more than quadrupled during the unstable regime. Cold-core ring (CCR) formation, CCR–jet interaction, and coupling between ~40-day deep eddies were responsible for asymmetry in downgradient fluxes in the mean maps not observed during the stable regime. The Kuroshio Extension has prominent deep energy associated with externally generated eddies that interact with the jet to drive some of the biggest DEHF events. These eddies play an important role in the variability of the jet through eddy–mean flow interactions. The DEHFs that result from vertical coupling act in accordance with baroclinic instability. The interaction is not growth from an infinitesimal perturbation, but from the start is a finite-amplitude interaction.

scholarly journals Mean flow and variability in the Kuroshio Extension from Geosat altimetry data

1991 ◽  
Vol 96 (C10) ◽  
pp. 18491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Kathryn A. Kelly ◽  
Terrence M. Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Altimetry Data ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The Kuroshio

scholarly journals Deterministic Model of the Eddy Dynamics for a Midlatitude Ocean Model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takaya Uchida ◽  
Bruno Deremble ◽  
Stephane Popinet
Keyword(s):  
Deterministic Model ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Flux Divergence ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Weather System ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
The Mean

Mesoscale eddies, the weather system of the oceans, although being on the scales of O(20-100km), have a disproportionate role in shaping the mean jets such as the separated Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean, which is on the scale of O(1000km) in the along-jet direction. With the increase in computational power, we are now able to partially resolve the eddies in basin-scale and global ocean simulations, a model resolution often referred to as mesoscale permitting. It is well known, however, that due to grid-scale numerical viscosity, mesoscale permitting simulations have less energetic eddies and consequently weaker eddy feedback onto the mean flow. In this study, we run a quasi-geostrophic model at mesoscale resolving resolution in a double gyre configuration and formulate a deterministic parametrization for the eddy rectification term of potential vorticity (PV), namely, the eddy PV flux divergence. We have moderate success in reproducing the spatial patterns and magnitude of eddy kinetic and potential energy diagnosed from the model. One novel point about our approach is that we account for non-local eddy feedbacks onto the mean flow by solving the eddy PV equation prognostically in addition to the mean flow. In return, we are able to parametrize the variability in total (mean+eddy) PV at each time step instead of solely the mean PV. A closure for the total PV is beneficial as we are able to account for both the mean state and extreme events.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document