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Ocean circulation encompasses motions on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The greatest challenge to a physical oceanographer is to understand how these motions interact with each other and how these interactions determine the oceanic state and the Earth climate.
Dynamics of Mesoscale Currents
Mesoscale (spatial scales of 10-100km) currents have been known to be generated and influenced by the large-scale (hundreds and thousands of kilometers) flows, but the importance of mesoscale for large-scale dynamics remains a long-standing challenge in Physical Oceanography. For the past decade, I have been fascinated by the strong tendency of mesoscale eddies to induce persistent, predominantly zonal flows. These flows are clearly visible in the atmospheres of giant planets (e.g. Jupiter, Saturn) as zonal jets, and are known to exist in geostrophic turbulence and plasma flows.
Role of Mesoscale Currents in Distribution of Properties
Oceanic advection and mixing influences the Earth’s climate in several ways. Distribution of heat anomalies plays a critical role in the energy budget of the Earth system and in sea-level rise. Uptake, transport and storage of various components of the oceanic bio- and geo-chemical cycles, including anthropogenic carbon, effectively control the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. While the importance of large-scale circulation in distribution and air-sea exchanges of these quantities has been known for some time, the significance of mesoscale currents in these processes is only beginning to emerge. Our research explores the significance of mesoscale currents in these processes.
Role of mesoscale currents in air-sea interactions
As air blows across sharp fronts in Sea-Surface Temperature (SST), the atmosphere cannot fully adjust, which leads to significant effects on air-sea interaction. In parts of the oceans where the mesoscale advection is strong, the resulting SST anomalies drive the air-sea exchanges, by forcing the atmosphere to adjust and damp these anomalies. These processes challenge the traditional view on the upper ocean as a passive player responding to atmospheric variability.
Observing System Simulation Experiments
Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) can help interpretation of existing observing systems (OS) and guide the design of the new ones. OSSEs are beginning to accompany all new observational efforts, and my original contribution to this powerful approach was to introduce a convenient metric (“reconstruction errors”) for the skill with which an oceanic property can be reconstructed from sparse measurements. My current studies assist the development of a new biogeochemical array, as a part of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project.
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