A new mechanism for the generation of quasi‐zonal jets in the ocean

Wang, Jinbo; Spall, Michael A.; Flierl, Glenn R.; Malanotte‐Rizzoli, Paola

doi:10.1029/2012gl051861

Cited by 26 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Afanasyev et al, 2011), radiating instabilities of the eastern boundary current (e.g. Hristova et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2012), stationary Rossby waves (e.g. Maximenko et al, 2008), and the nonlinear self-interactions of the linear eigenmodes (e.g.…”

Section: Banded Structures In the Low-frequency Eddy Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The radiating instabilty of the eastern boundary current can induce tilted banded structures in the flow snapshot in the ENP region and the localized wind stress curl forcing at the Hawaiian Island can induce the zonal currents in the north CNP region via the beta plume effect (Wang et al, 2012;Stommel et al, 1958;Jia et al, 2011). However, these processes do not exist in the idealized model.…”

Section: Limitations and Advantages Of The Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We term this hypothesis the "vortex-propagation mechanism". Other formation mechanisms include, but are not limited to, stationary Rossby waves (Maximenko et al, 2008), beta plumes (Afanasyev et al, 2011), radiating instabilities of the eastern boundary current (Hristova et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2012), and the nonlinear self-interactions of the linear eigenmodes (Berloff, 2005;Berloff et al, 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

Chen¹

2013

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Studying oceanic eddies is important for understanding and predicting ocean circulation and climate variability. The central focus of this dissertation is the energy exchange between eddies and mean flow and banded structures in the low-frequency component of the eddy field. A combination of a realistic eddy-permitting ocean state estimate and simplified theoretical models is used to address the following specific questions. (1) What are the major spatial characteristics of eddy-mean flow interaction from an energy perspective? Is eddy-mean flow interaction a local process in most ocean regions? (2) The banded structures in the low-frequency eddy field are termed striations. How much oceanic variability is associated with striations? How does the time-mean circulation, for example a subtropical gyre or constant mean flow, influence the origin and characteristics of striations? How much do striations contribute to the energy budget and tracer mixing?

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Section: Banded Structures In the Low-frequency Eddy Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitations and Advantages Of The Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

Chen¹

2013

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“…Most results were derived from analysis of two-dimensional models of QZJs that yielded useful analytical results (Loesch, 1977;Newell, 1969;Rhines, 1975;Vallis and Maltrud, 1991;Nadiga, 2006;Galperin et al, 2010;Connaugton et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2012Wang et al, , 2013. However, these results were obtained for simplified jet models, and it is difficult to use these models to detect mechanisms of oceanic jet generation that might exist in nature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternative hypotheses based on three-dimensional models have been proposed to explain mechanisms of QZJ generation; see Hristova et al (2008), Berloff et al (2009Berloff et al ( , 2011, Tanaka and Akitomo (2010), Wang et al (2012) and Qiu at al. (2013), among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On quartet interactions in the California Current system

Ivanov

Collins

Margolina

2014

Nonlin. Processes Geophys.

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Abstract. Sea surface height (SSH) altimetry observations for 1992 to 2009 off California are used to show that observed quasi-zonal jets were likely driven by near-resonance interactions between different scales of the flow. Quartet (modulational) instability dominated and caused non-local transfer of energy from waves and eddies to biannual oscillations and quasi-zonal jets. Two types of quartets were identified: those composed of scales corresponding to (a) quasi-zonal jets, annual and semiannual Rossby waves and mesoscale eddies, and (b) biannual oscillations, semiannual Rossby waves and mesoscale eddies. The spectral centroid regularly shifted into the domain of low-order modes. However, the spectrum of SSHs does not demonstrate a power behavior. This says that the classical inverse cascade is absent. For a case with bottom friction, quartet instability required the existence of a certain level of dissipativity in the flow.

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Mechanisms for the emergence of ocean striations in the North Pacific

Davis

Lorenzo

Luo

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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Recent observations suggest that the mean mesoscale oceanic zonal velocity field is dominated by alternating jet-like features often referred to as striations. Here the generating dynamics of Northeast Pacific striations are explored with a set of 120 year eddy-permitting model simulations. Simulations are conducted with decreasing complexity toward idealized configurations retaining the essential dynamics and forcing necessary for striation development. For each simulation, we diagnose the spin-up of the ocean model and the sensitivity of striation generation to topography, coastal geometry, and wind stress, which modulates the gyre circulation and the nonlinearity of the flow field. Results indicate that Northeast Pacific striations develop predominantly at the eastern boundary and migrate westward in congruence with beta-plumes in both the nonlinear and quasi-linear regimes. Mean striations are governed by coastline geometry, which provides quasi-steady vorticity sources energized by eastern boundary current instabilities.

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A new mechanism for the generation of quasi‐zonal jets in the ocean

Cited by 26 publications

References 28 publications

Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 state estimate and simplified models

On quartet interactions in the California Current system

Mechanisms for the emergence of ocean striations in the North Pacific

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