Secondary circulation associated with a shelfbreak front

Barth, John A.; Bogucki, Darek; Pierce, Stephen D.; Kosro, P. Michael

doi:10.1029/98gl02104

Cited by 71 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…3B) suggests that new fluid has replaced the dye tagged fluid and that there is a mean upwelling circulation at the front. This inference is reinforced by observations of turbidity plumes ascending along the front [Barth et al, 1998]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…The temperature/salinity correlation is high so temperature can be used to define stratification below depths of 60 m. The foot of the front protrudes onto the shelf while seaward of the shelfbreak the front shoals to the surface (see Fig. 1 in Barth et al, 1998). Where the front intercepts the BBL the stratification associated with the front generates a cross-shelf temperature gradient in the BBL.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Upwelling and convergence in the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Front

Houghton

Visbeck

1998

Geophysical Research Letters

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upwelling and convergence in the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Front

Houghton

Visbeck

1998

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…From measurements of phytoplankton and suspended sediment levels, Barth et al (1998) inferred the secondary circulation about the shelfbreak front. They showed that a band of suspended particulate matter extended upwards from the foot of the front and inshore of the frontal boundary at the 25.8 kg m −3 isopycnal.…”

Section: Downstream Of This Location At Approximately 74mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They showed that a band of suspended particulate matter extended upwards from the foot of the front and inshore of the frontal boundary at the 25.8 kg m −3 isopycnal. By using ADCP velocity measurements, Barth et al (1998) assumed a balance between the convergence in the cross-shelf flow and upwelling to estimate an upwelling rate of 9 + 2 m day −1 on the inshore side of the front. From June to July 1999 at approximately 67…”

Section: Downstream Of This Location At Approximately 74mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upwelling brings nutrients up from depth, supporting biological productivity, and hence its rate is important to quantify. Upwelling rates range from vertical velocities of 9 + 2 m day −1 (Barth et al 1998) Other modelling studies examined the dynamical significance of the shelfbreak to the formation of the front, jet, and upwelling. Gawarkiewicz and Chapman (1992) examined the along-shelf evolution of flows near the shelfbreak, in which vertical mixing induced by downslope Ekman advection of buoyancy created a density front that was formed at the shelfbreak.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linear and nonlinear stratified spindown over sloping topography

Benthuysen¹

2010

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In a stratified rotating fluid, frictionally driven circulations couple with the buoyancy field over sloping topography. Analytical and numerical methods are used to quantify the impact of this coupling on the vertical circulation, spindown of geostrophic flows, and the formation of a shelfbreak jet.Over a stratified slope, linear spindown of a geostrophic along-isobath flow induces cross-isobath Ekman flows. Ekman advection of buoyancy weakens the vertical circulation and slows spindown. Upslope (downslope) Ekman flows tend to inject (remove) potential vorticity into (from) the ocean. Momentum advection and nonlinear buoyancy advection are examined in setting asymmetries in the vertical circulation and the vertical relative vorticity field. During nonlinear homogeneous spindown over a flat bottom, momentum advection weakens Ekman pumping and strengthens Ekman suction, while cyclonic vorticity decays faster than anticyclonic vorticity. During nonlinear stratified spindown over a slope, nonlinear advection of buoyancy enhances the asymmetry in Ekman pumping and suction, whereas anticyclonic vorticity can decay faster than cyclonic vorticity outside of the boundary layers.During the adjustment of a spatially uniform geostrophic current over a shelfbreak, coupling between the Ekman flow and the buoyancy field generates Ekman pumping near the shelfbreak, which leads to the formation of a jet. Scalings are presented for the upwelling strength, the length scale over which it occurs, and the timescale for jet formation. The results are applied to the Middle Atlantic Bight shelfbreak.

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Shelf water and chlorophyll export from the Hatteras slope and outer shelf

Churchill

Gawarkiewicz

2014

JGR Oceans

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Using high-resolution data acquired from a shipboard ADCP and a towed Scanfish equipped with a CTD and fluorometer, we examine the properties and transport of Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelf water over a region of the Hatteras outer shelf and slope where MAB shelf water is commonly deflected offshore and entrained into the Gulf Stream. The data are from a period in early August 2004 when the seasonal pycnocline of the MAB is well developed and situated over a weakly stratified, near-bottom shelf water mass commonly referred to as the cold pool. Our data show chlorophyll-rich cold pool water carried rapidly southward over the slope and outer shelf, at a rate of up to 60 cm s 21 , as part of the shelf-edge frontal jet. This southward transport of chlorophyll-rich cold pool water is shunted eastward and entrained into the Gulf Stream. However, the latitude band over which this export occurs varies significantly over the 7 day course of our study, a variation which is linked to an order 50 km shift in the latitude at which the Gulf Stream separates from the continental margin. The coupled rapid translation of the Gulf Stream frontal separation and the cold pool export zone is likely to have a significant impact on the movement and accumulation of biogenic material over the Hatteras slope and rise.

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Secondary circulation associated with a shelfbreak front

Cited by 71 publications

References 4 publications

Upwelling and convergence in the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Front

Upwelling and convergence in the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Front

Linear and nonlinear stratified spindown over sloping topography

Shelf water and chlorophyll export from the Hatteras slope and outer shelf

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