Dynamics of the southern ocean
The Southern Ocean is characterised by turbulent flow associated with the world's strongest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This turbulence is dominated by mesoscale eddies vortices which are small (~50km) compared with the size of the Southern Ocean. Mesoscale eddies play a variety of roles...
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The Southern Ocean is characterised by turbulent flow associated with the world's strongest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This turbulence is dominated by mesoscale eddies vortices which are small (~50km) compared with the size of the Southern Ocean. Mesoscale eddies play a variety of roles in the dynamics of the Southern Ocean: they help to balance the forces contributing circulation in this region, thereby controlling the zonal momentum balance of the ACC, and are responsible for carrying heat across the Southern Ocean. We model the ACC using an eddy-resolving ocean model to determine the dynamics of this important ocean basin.
Relevant Papers :
- Meredith M. P., and Hogg A. McC. (2006) Circumpolar response of Southern Ocean eddy activity to a change in the Southern Annular Mode. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 , L16608, doi:10.1029/2006GL026499.
- A. McC. HOGG & J. R. BLUNDELL, (2006). Interdecadal variability of the Southern Ocean. J. Phys. Ocean., 36, 1626-1645.