Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4548711 | Journal of Marine Systems | 2010 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
The mesoscale structures were imaged via reflections from oceanic fine structures of scale 30Â m or less. We compare the characteristics of observed reflections with known mechanisms of fine-structure production. Most of the observed reflections are consistent with internal waves and thermohaline intrusions as previously hypothesized. We postulate a new mechanism to explain the formation of the steeply sloping reflections that outline the meddy and other features, involving frontogenetic isopycnal advection, formation of thermohaline intrusions, and tilting of the intrusive layers by mesoscale shear flows. The imaging technique therefore shows the relationship between mesoscale features and the fine-scale oceanographic phenomena associated with mixing, including steeply-sloped structures that would otherwise not be tracked using CTD profiles alone.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Oceanography
Authors
Luis Menezes Pinheiro, Haibin Song, Barry Ruddick, Jesus Dubert, Isabel Ambar, Kamran Mustafa, Ronaldo Bezerra,