The main source feeding the abyssal circulation of the North Pacific is the deep, northward flow of 5–6 Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106m3s−1) through the Samoan Passage. A recent field campaign has shown that this flow is hydraulically controlled and that it experiences hydraulic jumps accompanied by strong mixing and dissipation concentrated near several deep sills. By our estimates, the diapycnal density flux associated with this mixing is considerably larger than the diapycnal flux across a typical isopycnal surface extending over the abyssal North Pacific. According to historical hydrographic observations, a second source of abyssal water for the North Pacific is 2.3–2.8 Sv of the dense flow that is diverted around the Manihiki Plateau to the east, bypassing the Samoan Passage. This bypass flow is not confined to a channel and is therefore less likely to experience the strong mixing that is associated with hydraulic transitions. The partitioning of flux between the two branches of the deep flow could therefore be relevant to the distribution of Pacific abyssal mixing. To gain insight into the factors that control the partitioning between these two branches, we develop an abyssal and equator-proximal extension of the “island rule.” Novel features include provisions for the presence of hydraulic jumps as well as identification of an appropriate integration circuit for an abyssal layer to the east of the island. Evaluation of the corresponding circulation integral leads to a prediction of 0.4–2.4 Sv of bypass flow. The circulation integral clearly identifies dissipation and frictional drag effects within the Samoan Passage as crucial elements in partitioning the flow.
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10136839
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Physical Oceanography
- Volume:
- 49
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 0022-3670
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 3179 to 3197
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Enhanced diapycnal mixing induced by the near-bottom breaking of internal waves is an essential component of the lower meridional overturning circulation. Despite its crucial role in the ocean circulation, tidally driven internal wave breaking is challenging to observe due to its inherently short spatial and temporal scales. We present detailed moored and shipboard observations that resolve the spatiotemporal variability of the tidal response over a small-scale bump embedded in the continental slope of Tasmania. Cross-shore tidal currents drive a nonlinear trapped response over the steep bottom around the bump. The observations are roughly consistent with two-dimensional high-mode tidal lee-wave theory. However, the alongshore tidal velocities are large, suggesting that the alongshore bathymetric variability modulates the tidal response driven by the cross-shore tidal flow. The semidiurnal tide and energy dissipation rate are correlated at subtidal time scales, but with complex temporal variability. Energy dissipation from a simple scattering model shows that the elevated near-bottom turbulence can be sustained by the impinging mode-1 internal tide, where the dissipation over the bump is
O (1%) of the incident depth-integrated energy flux. Despite this small fraction, tidal dissipation is enhanced over the bump due to steep topography at a horizontal scale ofO (1) km and may locally drive significant diapycnal mixing.Significance Statement Near-bottom turbulent mixing is a key element of the global abyssal circulation. We present observations of the spatiotemporal variability of tidally driven turbulent processes over a small-scale topographic bump off Tasmania. The semidiurnal tide generates large-amplitude transient lee waves and hydraulic jumps that are unstable and dissipate the tidal energy. These processes are consistent with the scattering of the incident low-mode internal tide on the continental slope of Tasmania. Despite elevated turbulence over the bump, near-bottom energy dissipation is small relative to the incident wave energy flux.
-
A model devised by Thorpe & Li ( J. Fluid Mech. , vol. 758, 2014, pp. 94–120) that predicts the conditions in which stationary turbulent hydraulic jumps can occur in the flow of a continuously stratified layer over a horizontal rigid bottom is applied to, and its results compared with, observations made at several locations in the ocean. The model identifies two positions in the Samoan Passage at which hydraulic jumps should occur and where changes in the structure of the flow are indeed observed. The model predicts the amplitude of changes and the observed mode 2 form of the transitions. The predicted dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy is also consistent with observations. One location provides a particularly well-defined example of a persistent hydraulic jump. It takes the form of a 390 m thick and 3.7 km long mixing layer with frequent density inversions separated from the seabed by some 200 m of relatively rapidly moving dense water, thus revealing the previously unknown structure of an internal hydraulic jump in the deep ocean. Predictions in the Red Sea Outflow in the Gulf of Aden are relatively uncertain. Available data, and the model predictions, do not provide strong support for the existence of hydraulic jumps. In the Mediterranean Outflow, however, both model and data indicate the presence of a hydraulic jump.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Circulation patterns over the inner continental shelf can be spatially complex and highly variable in time. However, few studies have examined alongshore variability over short scales of kilometers or less. To observe inner‐shelf bottom temperatures with high (5‐m) horizontal resolution, a fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing system was deployed along a 5‐km‐long portion of the 15‐m isobath within a larger‐scale mooring array south of Martha's Vineyard, MA. Over the span of 4 months, variability at a range of scales was observed along the cable over time periods of less than a day. Notably, rapid cooling events propagated down the cable away from a tidal mixing front, showing that propagating fronts on the inner shelf can be generated locally near shallow bathymetric features in addition to remote offshore locations. Propagation velocities of observed fronts were influenced by background tidal currents in the alongshore component and show a weak correlation with theoretical gravity current speeds in the cross‐shore component. These events provide a source of cold, dense water into the inner shelf. However, differences in the magnitude and frequency of cooling events at sites separated by a few kilometers in the alongshore direction suggest that the characteristics of small‐scale variability can vary dramatically and can result in differential fluxes of water, heat, and other tracers. Thus, under stratified conditions, prolonged subsurface observations with high spatial and temporal resolution are needed to characterize the implications of three‐dimensional circulation patterns on exchange, especially in regions where the coastline and isobaths are not straight.
-
Abstract The energy and momentum balance of an abyssal overflow across a major sill in the Samoan Passage is estimated from two highly resolved towed sections, set 16 months apart, and results from a two-dimensional numerical simulation. Driven by the density anomaly across the sill, the flow is relatively steady. The system gains energy from divergence of horizontal pressure work and flux of available potential energy . Approximately half of these gains are transferred into kinetic energy while the other half is lost to turbulent dissipation, bottom drag, and divergence in vertical pressure work. Small-scale internal waves emanating downstream of the sill within the overflow layer radiate upward but dissipate most of their energy within the dense overflow layer and at its upper interface. The strongly sheared and highly stratified upper interface acts as a critical layer inhibiting any appreciable upward radiation of energy via topographically generated lee waves. Form drag of , estimated from the pressure drop across the sill, is consistent with energy lost to dissipation and internal wave fluxes. The topographic drag removes momentum from the mean flow, slowing it down and feeding a countercurrent aloft. The processes discussed in this study combine to convert about one-third of the energy released from the cross-sill density difference into turbulent mixing within the overflow and at its upper interface. The observed and modeled vertical momentum flux divergence sustains gradients in shear and stratification, thereby maintaining an efficient route for abyssal water mass transformation downstream of this Samoan Passage sill.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0116.1
