Mixing by ocean eddies
Name
790514424-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
20.11 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
806a01aeab37fd592a91629a5d773e02
Author(s)
Abernathey, Ryan (Ryan Patrick)
Advisor(s)
John Marshall.
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Mesoscale eddies mix and transport tracers such as heat and potential vorticity laterally in the ocean. While this transport plays an important role in the climate system, especially in the Southern Ocean, we lack a, comprehensive understanding of what sets mixing rates. This thesis seeks to advance this understanding through three related studies. First, mixing rates are diagnosed from an eddy-resolving state estimate of the Southern Ocean, revealing a meridional cross-section of effective diffusivity shaped by the interplay between eddy propagation and mean flow. Effective diffusivity diagnostics are then applied to quantify surface mixing rates globally, using a, kinematic model with velocities derived from satellite observations; the diagnosed mixing rates show a rich spatial structure, with especially strong mixing in the tropics and western-boundary-current regions. Finally, an idealized numerical model of the Southern Ocean is analyzed, focusing on the response to changes in win( stress. The sensitivity of the meridional overturning circulation to the wind changes demonstrates the importance of properly capturing eddy mixing rates for large-scale climate problems.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-175).
Subjects
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
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