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4 - Particle motion in a sea of eddies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2009

By
Claudia Pasquero ,
Annalisa Bracco ,
Antonello Provenzale  and
Jeffrey B. Weiss
Edited by
Annalisa Griffa ,
A. D. Kirwan, Jr. ,
Arthur J. Mariano ,
Tamay Özgökmen  and
H. Thomas Rossby
Claudia Pasquero
Affiliation:
ESS University of California, Irvine, California, USA
Annalisa Bracco
Affiliation:
Physical Oceanography Dept., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
Antonello Provenzale
Affiliation:
ISAC-CNR, Torino, CIMA, Savona, Italy
Jeffrey B. Weiss
Affiliation:
PAOS University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Annalisa Griffa
Affiliation:
University of Miami
A. D. Kirwan, Jr.
Affiliation:
University of Delaware
Arthur J. Mariano
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Tamay Özgökmen
Affiliation:
University of Miami
H. Thomas Rossby
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island
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Summary

Abstract

As more high-resolution observations become available, our view of ocean mesoscale turbulence more closely becomes that of a “sea of eddies.” The presence of the coherent vortices significantly affects the dynamics and the statistical properties of mesoscale flows, with important consequences on tracer dispersion and ocean stirring and mixing processes. Here we review some of the properties of particle transport in vortex-dominated flows, concentrating on the statistical properties induced by the presence of an ensemble of vortices. We discuss a possible parameterization of particle dispersion in vortex-dominated flows, adopting the view that ocean mesoscale turbulence is a two-component fluid which includes intense, localized vortical structures with non-local effects immersed in a Kolmogorovian, low-energy turbulent background which has mostly local effects. Finally, we report on some recent results regarding the role of coherent mesoscale eddies in marine ecosystem functioning, which is related to the effects that vortices have on nutrient supply.

Introduction

The ocean transports heat, salt, momentum and vorticity, nutrients and pollutants, and many other material and dynamical quantities across its vast spaces. Some of these transport processes are at the heart of the mechanisms of climate variability and of marine ecosystem functioning. In addition, a large portion of the available data on ocean dynamics are in the form of float and drifter trajectories. These provide a Lagrangian view of the ocean circulation which is not always easy to disentangle.

Type
Chapter
Information
Lagrangian Analysis and Prediction of Coastal and Ocean Dynamics , pp. 89 - 118
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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