Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography
This paper examines interaction between a barotropic point vortex and a steplike topography with a bay-shaped shelf. The interaction is governed by two mechanisms: propagation of topographic Rossby waves and advection by the forcing vortex. Topographic waves are supported by the potential vorticity...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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American Meteorological Society
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67486 |
| _version_ | 1826191100498411520 |
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| author | Zhang, Yu Pedlosky, Joseph Flierl, Glenn Richard |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Zhang, Yu Pedlosky, Joseph Flierl, Glenn Richard |
| author_sort | Zhang, Yu |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This paper examines interaction between a barotropic point vortex and a steplike topography with a bay-shaped shelf. The interaction is governed by two mechanisms: propagation of topographic Rossby waves and advection by the forcing vortex. Topographic waves are supported by the potential vorticity (PV) jump across the topography and propagate along the step only in one direction, having higher PV on the right. Near one side boundary of the bay, which is in the wave propagation direction and has a narrow shelf, waves are blocked by the boundary, inducing strong out-of-bay transport in the form of detached crests. The wave–boundary interaction as well as out-of-bay transport is strengthened as the minimum shelf width is decreased. The two control mechanisms are related differently in anticyclone- and cyclone-induced interactions. In anticyclone-induced interactions, the PV front deformations are moved in opposite directions by the point vortex and topographic waves; a topographic cyclone forms out of the balance between the two opposing mechanisms and is advected by the forcing vortex into the deep ocean. In cyclone-induced interactions, the PV front deformations are moved in the same direction by the two mechanisms; a topographic cyclone forms out of the wave–boundary interaction but is confined to the coast. Therefore, anticyclonic vortices are more capable of driving water off the topography. The anticyclone-induced transport is enhanced for smaller vortex–step distance or smaller topography when the vortex advection is relatively strong compared to the wave propagation mechanism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:50:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/67486 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:50:12Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | American Meteorological Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/674862022-09-30T11:36:23Z Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography Zhang, Yu Pedlosky, Joseph Flierl, Glenn Richard Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Flierl, Glenn Richard Zhang, Yu Flierl, Glenn Richard This paper examines interaction between a barotropic point vortex and a steplike topography with a bay-shaped shelf. The interaction is governed by two mechanisms: propagation of topographic Rossby waves and advection by the forcing vortex. Topographic waves are supported by the potential vorticity (PV) jump across the topography and propagate along the step only in one direction, having higher PV on the right. Near one side boundary of the bay, which is in the wave propagation direction and has a narrow shelf, waves are blocked by the boundary, inducing strong out-of-bay transport in the form of detached crests. The wave–boundary interaction as well as out-of-bay transport is strengthened as the minimum shelf width is decreased. The two control mechanisms are related differently in anticyclone- and cyclone-induced interactions. In anticyclone-induced interactions, the PV front deformations are moved in opposite directions by the point vortex and topographic waves; a topographic cyclone forms out of the balance between the two opposing mechanisms and is advected by the forcing vortex into the deep ocean. In cyclone-induced interactions, the PV front deformations are moved in the same direction by the two mechanisms; a topographic cyclone forms out of the wave–boundary interaction but is confined to the coast. Therefore, anticyclonic vortices are more capable of driving water off the topography. The anticyclone-induced transport is enhanced for smaller vortex–step distance or smaller topography when the vortex advection is relatively strong compared to the wave propagation mechanism. MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Physical Oceanography National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-9901654) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-0451086) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-9901654) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-0451086) 2011-12-08T19:27:24Z 2011-12-08T19:27:24Z 2011-05 2010-10 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0022-3670 1520-0485 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67486 Zhang, Yu, Joseph Pedlosky, and Glenn R. Flierl. “Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography.” Journal of Physical Oceanography 41, no. 5 (May 2011): 889–910. © 2011 American Meteorological Society en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4496.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography Article 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. application/pdf American Meteorological Society AMS |
| spellingShingle | Zhang, Yu Pedlosky, Joseph Flierl, Glenn Richard Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title | Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title_full | Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title_fullStr | Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title_short | Shelf Circulation and Cross-Shelf Transport out of a Bay Driven by Eddies from an Open-Ocean Current. Part I: Interaction between a Barotropic Vortex and a Steplike Topography |
| title_sort | shelf circulation and cross shelf transport out of a bay driven by eddies from an open ocean current part i interaction between a barotropic vortex and a steplike topography |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67486 |
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