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dc.contributor.authorKunze, E.
dc.contributor.authorKlymak, J. M.
dc.contributor.authorLien, Ren-Chieh
dc.contributor.authorLee, C. M.
dc.contributor.authorSundermeyer, M. A.
dc.contributor.authorGoodman, L.
dc.contributor.authorFerrari, Raffaele
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-17T20:07:39Z
dc.date.available2015-12-17T20:07:39Z
dc.date.issued2015-05
dc.date.submitted2015-02
dc.identifier.issn0022-3670
dc.identifier.issn1520-0485
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100417
dc.description.abstractSubmesoscale stirring contributes to the cascade of tracer variance from large to small scales. Multiple nested surveys in the summer Sargasso Sea with tow-yo and autonomous platforms captured submesoscale water-mass variability in the seasonal pycnocline at 20–60-m depths. To filter out internal waves that dominate dynamic signals on these scales, spectra for salinity anomalies on isopycnals were formed. Salinity-gradient spectra are approximately flat with slopes of −0.2 ± 0.2 over horizontal wavelengths of 0.03–10 km. While the two to three realizations presented here might be biased, more representative measurements in the literature are consistent with a nearly flat submesoscale passive tracer gradient spectrum for horizontal wavelengths in excess of 1 km. A review of mechanisms that could be responsible for a flat passive tracer gradient spectrum rules out (i) quasigeostrophic eddy stirring, (ii) atmospheric forcing through a relict submesoscale winter mixed layer structure or nocturnal mixed layer deepening, (iii) a downscale vortical-mode cascade, and (iv) horizontal diffusion because of shear dispersion of diapycnal mixing. Internal-wave horizontal strain appears to be able to explain horizontal wavenumbers of 0.1–7 cycles per kilometer (cpkm) but not the highest resolved wavenumbers (7–30 cpkm). Submesoscale subduction cannot be ruled out at these depths, though previous observations observe a flat spectrum well below subduction depths, so this seems unlikely. Primitive equation numerical modeling suggests that nonquasigeostrophic subinertial horizontal stirring can produce a flat spectrum. The last need not be limited to mode-one interior or surface Rossby wavenumbers of quasigeostrophic theory but may have a broaderband spectrum extending to smaller horizontal scales associated with frontogenesis and frontal instabilities as well as internal waves.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipUnited States. Office of Naval Research (Award N00014-09-1-0633)en_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherAmerican Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-14-0108.1en_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.sourceAmerican Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.titleSubmesoscale Water-Mass Spectra in the Sargasso Seaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.citationKunze, E., J. M. Klymak, R.-C. Lien, R. Ferrari, C. M. Lee, M. A. Sundermeyer, and L. Goodman. “Submesoscale Water-Mass Spectra in the Sargasso Sea.” Journal of Physical Oceanography 45, no. 5 (May 2015): 1325–1338. © 2015 American Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.mitauthorFerrari, Raffaeleen_US
dc.relation.journalJournal of Physical Oceanographyen_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.orderedauthorsKunze, E.; Klymak, J. M.; Lien, R.-C.; Ferrari, R.; Lee, C. M.; Sundermeyer, M. A.; Goodman, L.en_US
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3736-1956
mit.licensePUBLISHER_POLICYen_US
mit.metadata.statusComplete


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