Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific
Mesoscale eddies play a crucial role in the transport of mass, heat, salt and nutrients, exerting significant influence on ocean circulation patterns, biogeochemical processes and the global climate system. Based on Lagrangian-Averaged Vorticity Deviation (LAVD) method, this study applies 27 years (...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/17/4355 |
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| author | Quanmu Yuan Jianyu Hu |
| author_facet | Quanmu Yuan Jianyu Hu |
| author_sort | Quanmu Yuan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mesoscale eddies play a crucial role in the transport of mass, heat, salt and nutrients, exerting significant influence on ocean circulation patterns, biogeochemical processes and the global climate system. Based on Lagrangian-Averaged Vorticity Deviation (LAVD) method, this study applies 27 years (1993–2019) of geostrophic current velocity data to detect Rotationally Coherent Lagrangian Vortices (RCLVs) in the Northwest Pacific (NWP; 10°N–30°N, 115°E–155°E), with the spatiotemporal characteristics of Eulerian Sea Surface Height Eddies (SSH eddies) and RCLVs being compared. A higher number of SSH eddies and RCLVs can be observed in spring and winter, and their inter-annual variations are similar. SSH eddies show higher generation number and larger radius in the Subtropical Countercurrent region, while RCLVs occur more favorably in the ocean basin. The propagation speed distributions of both eddy types are nearly identical and decrease with increasing latitude. Due to the material coherent transport maintained by RCLVs within a finite time interval, the coherent cores of RCLVs are considerably smaller in scale as compared to those of SSH eddies. The average zonal transports induced by SSH eddies and RCLVs are estimated to be −0.82 Sv and −0.51 Sv (1 Sv = 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/s), respectively. For non-overlapping SSH eddies with RCLVs, approximately 80% of the water within the eddy leaks out during the eddy’s lifespan. In the case of overlapping SSH eddies, the ratio of coherent water inside the eddy decreases with increasing radius, and the leakage rate is around 58%. Finally, an examination of 36 shedding RCLVs events from the Kuroshio near the Luzon Strait, which induce an average zonal transport of −0.14 Sv, reveals that 54% of the water within the shedding RCLVs originates from the Kuroshio. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:13:51Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:13:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9af871690f64cfcbf02c29cdb9fe6a12023-11-19T08:48:04ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-09-011517435510.3390/rs15174355Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest PacificQuanmu Yuan0Jianyu Hu1State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Center for Marine Meteorology and Climate Change, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Center for Marine Meteorology and Climate Change, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, ChinaMesoscale eddies play a crucial role in the transport of mass, heat, salt and nutrients, exerting significant influence on ocean circulation patterns, biogeochemical processes and the global climate system. Based on Lagrangian-Averaged Vorticity Deviation (LAVD) method, this study applies 27 years (1993–2019) of geostrophic current velocity data to detect Rotationally Coherent Lagrangian Vortices (RCLVs) in the Northwest Pacific (NWP; 10°N–30°N, 115°E–155°E), with the spatiotemporal characteristics of Eulerian Sea Surface Height Eddies (SSH eddies) and RCLVs being compared. A higher number of SSH eddies and RCLVs can be observed in spring and winter, and their inter-annual variations are similar. SSH eddies show higher generation number and larger radius in the Subtropical Countercurrent region, while RCLVs occur more favorably in the ocean basin. The propagation speed distributions of both eddy types are nearly identical and decrease with increasing latitude. Due to the material coherent transport maintained by RCLVs within a finite time interval, the coherent cores of RCLVs are considerably smaller in scale as compared to those of SSH eddies. The average zonal transports induced by SSH eddies and RCLVs are estimated to be −0.82 Sv and −0.51 Sv (1 Sv = 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/s), respectively. For non-overlapping SSH eddies with RCLVs, approximately 80% of the water within the eddy leaks out during the eddy’s lifespan. In the case of overlapping SSH eddies, the ratio of coherent water inside the eddy decreases with increasing radius, and the leakage rate is around 58%. Finally, an examination of 36 shedding RCLVs events from the Kuroshio near the Luzon Strait, which induce an average zonal transport of −0.14 Sv, reveals that 54% of the water within the shedding RCLVs originates from the Kuroshio.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/17/4355mesoscale eddiesLagrangian methodsspatiotemporal characteristicscoherent transportNorthwest Pacific |
| spellingShingle | Quanmu Yuan Jianyu Hu Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific Remote Sensing mesoscale eddies Lagrangian methods spatiotemporal characteristics coherent transport Northwest Pacific |
| title | Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific |
| title_full | Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific |
| title_fullStr | Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific |
| title_short | Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Volume Transport of Lagrangian Eddies in the Northwest Pacific |
| title_sort | spatiotemporal characteristics and volume transport of lagrangian eddies in the northwest pacific |
| topic | mesoscale eddies Lagrangian methods spatiotemporal characteristics coherent transport Northwest Pacific |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/17/4355 |
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