The influence of a steady baroclinic deep ocean on the shelf
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4804Location
Mid-Atlantic BightDOI
10.1575/1912/4804Keyword
Ocean waves; Continental shelfAbstract
The degree to which a baroclinic deep ocean could be responsible for the mean flow
on the shallow continental shelf is examined using steady, boundary forced models
which incorporate bottom friction. One set of models, for a vertically well mixed shelf,
includes the horizontal advection of density. The second set of models comprises a
three-layer model without and a two-layer model with interfacial friction.
It is found that near bottom flow has a short cross isobath scale due to the steep
continental slope and consequently that the deep oceans lower water column could
not be responsible for the observed mean flow. The cross isobath scale of flow in
the upper deep ocean is predominantly determined by the oceans velocity profile. In
a barotropic or near barotropic flow the upper water column follows the near bottom
flow and therefore has little influence on the shelf. A surface intensified deep ocean flow
is able to cross isobaths until it encounters the bottom. If deep ocean flow is confined
to a surface layer thinner than the depth at the shelf break it could be responsible
for the observed flow. The depth scale for velocity and density over the slope in the
Mid-Atlantic Bight is generally larger than the shelf break depth and consequently
it is concluded that the steep continental slope "insulates" this particular shelf from
baroclinic deep ocean influence and therefore that the observed shelf flow is not of
oceanic origin.
Using oxygen isotope data, Chapman et al. (1986) found that the Scotian shelf is
the major source of Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf water. Their barotropic modeling results
are extended to show that a baroclinic deep ocean also acts to hold shelf water on the
shelf.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 1988
Collections
Suggested Citation
Thesis: Vennell, M. Ross, "The influence of a steady baroclinic deep ocean on the shelf", 1988-06, DOI:10.1575/1912/4804, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4804Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Slope/shelf circulation and cross-slope/shelf transport out of a bay driven by eddies from the open ocean
Zhang, Yu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2009-09)Interaction between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the continental slope/shelf in the Marguerite Bay and west Antarctic Peninsula is examined as interaction between a wind-driven channel flow and a zonally uniform ... -
Ocean circulation and dynamics on the west Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf
Moffat Varas, Carlos F. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2007-09)Observations of current velocity, temperature, salinity and pressure from a 2-year moored array deployment and four hydrographic cruises conducted by the United States Southern Ocean GLOBEC program on the western Antarctic ... -
Ice shelf-ocean interactions in a general circulation model : melt-rate modulation due to mean flow and tidal currents
Dansereau, Veronique (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2012-09)Interactions between the ocean circulation in sub-ice shelf cavities and the overlying ice shelf have received considerable attention in the context of observed changes in flow speeds of marine ice sheets around Antarctica. ...