Enhanced Cross-Shelf Exchange by the Eddies Associated With Plume Front
[1];
[2];
[3];
[4];
[6]
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou (China)
- University of Macau (China); Center for Ocean Research in Hong Kong and Macau (CORE) (China)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Guangzhou (China)
- Sun Yat‐sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Zhuhai (China)
Broadened width of high chlorophyll concentration band with wavy structures, patches, and filaments are often observed along the western coastal next to the Pearl River Estuary over the northern South China Sea shelf during the transition period from winter to summer monsoon. Whereas, there is no such wide band in other seasons. By using a high-resolution numerical model, we reveal that the complex structure and wider band of high coastal chlorophyll concentration results from the smaller scale eddies (about 20–50 km in diameter) associated with buoyant plume-induced salinity front and density fronts, which are roughly along the 30 and 50 m isobaths, respectively. Two trains of eddies are formed along the fronts by the baroclinic instability triggered by frequently alternating winds over the fronts during the period of monsoon transition. The influences of these two trains of eddies are extended in the cross-shelf direction by their interactions, and they can temporally enhance the cross-shelf flow and material exchange. In conclusion, they serve as an efficient pathway to link the inner shelf toward the continental slope.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- CORE; Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Survey Technology and Application, Ministry of Natural Resources; Macau SAR; National Key R&D Program of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Shanghai Jiao Tong University; South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai); State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography; USDOE; University of Macau
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 2481720
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA--206847
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 129; ISSN 2169-9275
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Low-frequency current regimes over the Bering sea shelf
Low-frequency current and temperature variability from Gulf Stream frontal eddies and atmospheric forcing along the southeast US outer continental shelf