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Abstract This study investigates the vertical structure and related dynamical and energy conversion processes that aided the development of two east Pacific easterly waves (EWs) during the 2019 OTREC (Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection) campaign period. The initial mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) that seeded both disturbances formed near the Panama Bight and developed into EWs near the Papagayo jet exit region. In the MCS stage, both disturbances were characterized by top‐heavy vertical motions and midlevel vorticity near the maximum vorticity center. The deep convection caused strong latent heating and eddy available potential energy (EAPE) generation and conversion to eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the upper levels. When the disturbances moved to the south of the Papagayo jet, they interacted with the low‐level shear vorticity there, enhancing low‐level stretching and vorticity. Subsequently, the top‐heavy upward motion intensified and led to enhanced stretching and vorticity intensification at midlevels. The enhanced stretching on the southwest side also favored the formation of southwest‐northeast tilted vorticity at midlevels that characterizes EWs. After the EWs formed near the jet exit, the vertical motion weakened and became more bottom‐heavy, with the maximum vorticity shifting to lower levels. This change in the vertical motion profile near the jet exit region is likely modulated by the lower sea surface temperature, reduced moisture, and weaker convective instability. While EAPE‐to‐EKE conversion weakened during this period, the low‐level barotropic conversion of EKE in the jet exit served as the primary energy source for the EWs.
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Intensified Currents Associated With Benthic Storms Underneath an Eddying Jet
Abstract Benthic storms are episodes of intensified near‐bottom currents capable of sediment resuspension in the deep ocean. They typically occur under regions of high surface eddy kinetic energy (EKE), such as the Gulf Stream. Although they have long been observed, the mechanism(s) responsible for their formation and their relationships with salient features of the deep ocean, such as bottom mixed layers (BMLs) and benthic nepheloid layers (BNLs), remain poorly understood. Here we conduct idealized experiments with a primitive‐equation model to explore the impacts of the unforced instability of a surface‐intensified jet on near‐bottom flows of a deep zonal channel. Vertical resolution is increased near the bottom to represent the bottom boundary layer. We find that the unstable near‐surface jet develops meanders and evolves into alternating, deep‐reaching cyclones and anticyclones. Simultaneously, EKE increases near the bottom due to the convergence of vertical eddy pressure fluxes, leading to near‐bottom currents comparable to those observed during benthic storms. These currents in turn form BMLs with thickness of O(100 m) from enhanced velocity shears and turbulence production near the bottom. The deep cyclonic eddies transport fluid particles both laterally and vertically, from near the bottom through the entire BML and may contribute to the formation of the lower part of BNLs. A sloping bottom reduces both the intensity of the near‐bottom currents and the extent of vertical transport. Overall, our study highlights a significant response of the abyssal environment to near‐surface current instability, with potential implications for sediment transport in the deep ocean.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2122726
- PAR ID:
- 10640595
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Volume:
- 129
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2169-9275
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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