A microscale view of mixing and overturning across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Prof. Alberto Naveira Garabato, University of Southampton
• Wednesday 12 November 2014, 14:00-15:00
• British Antarctic Survey, Room 330B.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Alexander Brearley.

If you are external to BAS, please email the seminar organiser to arrange access

The meridional overturning circulation and stratfication of the global ocean are shaped critically by processes in the Southern Ocean. The zonally unblocked nature of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) confers the region with a set of special dynamics that ultimately results in the focussing therein of large vertical exchanges between layers spanning the global ocean pycnocline. These vertical exchanges are thought to be mediated by oceanic turbulent motions (associated with mesoscale eddies and small-scale turbulence), yet the vastness of the Southern Ocean and the sparse and intermittent nature of turbulent processes make their relative roles and large-scale impacts extremely difficult to assess. Here we address the problem from a new angle, and use measurements of the centimetre-scale signatures of mesoscale eddies and small-scale turbulence obtained during the DIMES experiment to determine the contributions of those processes to sustaining large-scale meridional overturning across the ACC . We find that mesoscale eddies and small-scale turbulence play complementary roles in balancing a meridional circulation of O(1 mm / s) across the Southern Ocean, and that their roles are underpinned by distinct and abrupt variations in the rates at which they mix water parcels. The physical controls behind these variations and their implications for our understanding of the Southern Ocean circulation will be discussed.

This talk is part of the British Antarctic Survey - Polar Oceans seminar series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Biology
• British Antarctic Survey
• British Antarctic Survey, Room 330B
• Cambridge Environment
• Climate Science Seminars within Cambridge
• Featured lists
• Life Sciences
• Life Sciences
• ME Seminar
• Queens' College Politics Society
• School of Physical Sciences
• Talks related to atmosphere and ocean dynamics and climate science
• my_list
• ob366-ai4er
• other talks

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.