Lagrangian and Eulerian lateral diffusivities in zonal jets

Meridional diffusivities from Lagrangian particle dispersion and Eulerian diffusivities from a flux-gradient relationship are estimated in an idealized primitive equation channel model featuring eddy-driven zonal jets.The Eulerian estimate shows an increase with depth and clear minima of meridional diffusivities within the zonal jets, indicating mixing barriers. The Lagrangian estimates agree with the Eulerian method on the vertical variation and also show indications of meridional mimima, although meridional variations are poorly resolved. We found early maxima in the particle spreading rates which should not be related to diffusivities since they are caused by the meandering zonal jets. The meanders also produce rotational eddy fluxes, which can obscure the Eulerian diffusivity estimates.Zonal particle dispersion rates do not converge within the chosen lag interval, because of shear dispersion by the mean flow, i.e. it is not possible to estimate Lagrangian zonal diffusivities representative for regions of similar size of the zonal jet spacing. Removing the zonal mean flow, zonal and meridional dispersion rates converge and show much higher zonal than meridional diffusivities. Further, the pronounced vertical increase and indications of meridional minima in the Lagrangian meridional diffusivities disappear, pointing towards the importance of shear dispersion by the mean flow for the suppression of meridional mixing by zonal jets.

Research highlights
► Eulerian and Lagrangian diffusivity estimates agree in vertical variation.
► Indication of minima in meridional diffusivity in jet cores.
► Shear dispersion by the mean flow suppresses meridional mixing.