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dc.contributor.authorFerrari, Raffaele
dc.contributor.authorGarabato, Alberto C. Naveira
dc.contributor.authorPolzin, K. L.
dc.date.accessioned2012-10-09T16:20:10Z
dc.date.available2012-10-09T16:20:10Z
dc.date.issued2011-09
dc.date.submitted2011-06
dc.identifier.issn0148-0227
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73684
dc.description.abstractThere is an ongoing debate concerning the distribution of eddy stirring across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the nature of its controlling processes. The problem is addressed here by estimating the isentropic eddy diffusivity Kappa from a collection of hydrographic and altimetric observations, analyzed in a mixing length theoretical framework. It is shown that, typically, Kappa is suppressed by an order of magnitude in the upper kilometer of the ACC frontal jets relative to their surroundings, primarily as a result of a local reduction of the mixing length. This observation is reproduced by a quasi-geostrophic theory of eddy stirring across a broad barotropic jet based on the scaling law derived by Ferrari and Nikurashin (2010). The theory interprets the observed widespread suppression of the mixing length and Kappa in the upper layers of frontal jets as the kinematic consequence of eddy propagation relative to the mean flow within jet cores. Deviations from the prevalent regime of mixing suppression in the core of upper-ocean jets are encountered in a few special sites. Such ‘leaky jet’ segments appear to be associated with sharp stationary meanders of the mean flow that are generated by the interaction of the ACC with major topographic features. It is contended that the characteristic thermohaline structure of the Southern Ocean, consisting of multiple upper-ocean thermohaline fronts separated and underlaid by regions of homogenized properties, is largely a result of the widespread suppression of eddy stirring by parallel jets.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award OCE‐0825376)en_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)en_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010jc006818en_US
dc.rightsArticle is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.en_US
dc.sourceMIT web domainen_US
dc.titleEddy stirring in the Southern Oceanen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.citationNaveira Garabato, A. C., R. Ferrari, and K. L. Polzin. “Eddy Stirring in the Southern Ocean.” Journal of Geophysical Research 116.C9 (2011). ©2011 American Geophysical Unionen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.mitauthorFerrari, Raffaele
dc.relation.journalJournal of Geophysical Researchen_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen_US
dc.type.urihttp://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticleen_US
eprint.statushttp://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerRevieweden_US
dspace.orderedauthorsNaveira Garabato, A. C.; Ferrari, R.; Polzin, K. L.en
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3736-1956
mit.licensePUBLISHER_POLICYen_US
mit.metadata.statusComplete


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