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    Satellite observations of mesoscale eddy-induced Ekman pumping

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    jpo-d-14-0032%2E1.pdf (8.206Mb)
    Date
    2015-01
    Author
    Gaube, Peter  Concept link
    Chelton, Dudley B.  Concept link
    Samelson, Roger M.  Concept link
    Schlax, Michael G.  Concept link
    O’Neill, Larry W.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7149
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-14-0032.1
    DOI
    10.1175/JPO-D-14-0032.1
    Keyword
     Circulation/ Dynamics; Atmosphere-ocean interaction; Eddies; Ekman pumping/transport; Atm/Ocean Structure/ Phenomena; Eddies; Ekman pumping; Observational techniques and algorithms; Satellite observations 
    Abstract
    Three mechanisms for self-induced Ekman pumping in the interiors of mesoscale ocean eddies are investigated. The first arises from the surface stress that occurs because of differences between surface wind and ocean velocities, resulting in Ekman upwelling and downwelling in the cores of anticyclones and cyclones, respectively. The second mechanism arises from the interaction of the surface stress with the surface current vorticity gradient, resulting in dipoles of Ekman upwelling and downwelling. The third mechanism arises from eddy-induced spatial variability of sea surface temperature (SST), which generates a curl of the stress and therefore Ekman pumping in regions of crosswind SST gradients. The spatial structures and relative magnitudes of the three contributions to eddy-induced Ekman pumping are investigated by collocating satellite-based measurements of SST, geostrophic velocity, and surface winds to the interiors of eddies identified from their sea surface height signatures. On average, eddy-induced Ekman pumping velocities approach O(10) cm day−1. SST-induced Ekman pumping is usually secondary to the two current-induced mechanisms for Ekman pumping. Notable exceptions are the midlatitude extensions of western boundary currents and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, where SST gradients are strong and all three mechanisms for eddy-induced Ekman pumping are comparable in magnitude. Because the polarity of current-induced curl of the surface stress opposes that of the eddy, the associated Ekman pumping attenuates the eddies. The decay time scale of this attenuation is proportional to the vertical scale of the eddy and inversely proportional to the wind speed. For typical values of these parameters, the decay time scale is about 1.3 yr.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 45 (2015): 104–132, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-14-0032.1.
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    • Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (AOP&E)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Physical Oceanography 45 (2015): 104–132
     

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