FN Archimer Export Format
PT J
TI Altimetry-Based Diagnosis of Deep-Reaching Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Fronts
BT 
AF Siegelman, Lia
   Klein, Patrice
   Thompson, Andrew F.
   Torres, Hector S.
   Menemenlis, Dimitris
AS 1:1,2;2:1,2,3,4;3:1;4:2;5:2;
FF 1:;2:;3:;4:;5:;
C1 Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
   Laboratory for Ocean Physics and Satellite remote sensing, Ifremer, CNRS, Univ. de Bretagne Occidentale, 29280 Plouzane, France
   Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Ecole Normale Superieure, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
C2 CALTECH, USA
   JET PROP LAB, USA
   CNRS, FRANCE
   ENS, FRANCE
UM LOPS
IN WOS Cotutelle UMR
   DOAJ
   copubli-france
   copubli-int-hors-europe
TC 10
UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00645/75666/76532.pdf
LA English
DT Article
DE ;altimetry;finite-size Lyapunov exponent;ocean dynamics;sub-mesoscale
AB Recent studies demonstrate that energetic sub-mesoscale fronts (10–50 km width) extend in the ocean interior, driving large vertical velocities and associated fluxes. However, diagnosing the dynamics of these deep-reaching fronts from in situ observations remains challenging because of the lack of information on the 3-D structure of the horizontal velocity. Here, a realistic numerical simulation in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is used to study the dynamics of submesocale fronts in relation to velocity gradients, responsible for the formation of these fronts. Results highlight that the stirring properties of the flow at depth, which are related to the velocity gradients, can be inferred from finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) at the surface. Satellite altimetry observations of FSLE and velocity gradients are then used in combination with recent in situ observations collected by an elephant seal in the ACC to reconstruct frontal dynamics and their associated vertical velocities down to 500 m. The approach proposed here is well suited for the analysis of sub-mesoscale-resolving datasets and the design of future sub-mesoscale field campaigns. 
PY 2020
PD SEP
SO Fluids
SN 2311-5521
PU MDPI AG
VL 5
IS 3
UT 000580244900001
DI 10.3390/fluids5030145
ID 75666
ER

EF