Diagnosing the Observed Seasonal Cycle of Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water Using Potential Vorticity and Its Attendant Theorems
Author(s)
Marshall, John C.; Maze, Guillaume O.
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Analyzed fields of ocean circulation and the flux form of the potential vorticity equation are used to map the creation and subsequent circulation of low potential vorticity waters known as subtropical mode water (STMW) in the North Atlantic. Novel mapping techniques are applied to (i) render the seasonal cycle and annual-mean mixed layer vertical flux of potential vorticity (PV) through outcrops and (ii) visualize the extraction of PV from the mode water layer in winter, over and to the south of the Gulf Stream. Both buoyancy loss and wind forcing contribute to the extraction of PV, but the authors find that the former greatly exceeds the latter. The subsequent path of STMW is also mapped using Bernoulli contours on isopycnal surfaces.
Date issued
2011-10Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesJournal
Journal of Physical Oceanography
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Citation
Maze, Guillaume, and John Marshall. “Diagnosing the Observed Seasonal Cycle of Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water Using Potential Vorticity and Its Attendant Theorems.” Journal of Physical Oceanography 41.10 (2011): 1986–1999. © American Meteorological Society.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0022-3670
1520-0485