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Abstract Ocean weather comprises vortical and straining mesoscale motions, which play fundamentally different roles in the ocean circulation and climate system. Vorticity determines the movement of major ocean currents and gyres. Strain contributes to frontogenesis and the deformation of water masses, driving much of the mixing and vertical transport in the upper ocean. While recent studies have shown that interactions with the atmosphere damp the ocean’s mesoscale vorticesO(100) km in size, the effect of winds on straining motions remains unexplored. Here, we derive a theory for wind work on the ocean’s vorticity and strain. Using satellite and model data, we discover that wind damps strain and vorticity at an equal rate globally, and unveil striking asymmetries based on their polarity. Subtropical winds damp oceanic cyclones and energize anticyclones outside strong current regions, while subpolar winds have the opposite effect. A similar pattern emerges for oceanic strain, where subtropical convergent flow is damped along the west-equatorward east-poleward direction and energized along the east-equatorward west-poleward direction. These findings reveal energy pathways through which the atmosphere shapes ocean weather. 

Wind is the primary driver of the oceanic general circulation, yet the length scales at which this energy transfer occurs are unknown. Using satellite data and a recent method to disentangle multiscale processes, we find that wind deposits kinetic energy into the geostrophic ocean flow only at scales larger than 260 km, on a global average. We show that wind removes energy from scales smaller than 260 km at an average rate of −50 GW, a process known as eddy killing. To our knowledge, this is the first objective determination of the global eddy killing scale. We find that eddy killing is taking place at almost all times but with seasonal variability, peaking in winter, and it removes a substantial fraction (up to 90%) of the wind power input in western boundary currents. This process, often overlooked in analyses and models, is a major dissipation pathway for mesoscales, the ocean’s most energetic scales.