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| Titel |
Slope currents variability over a continental slope forced by mesoscale turbulence |
| VerfasserIn |
A. Le Boyer, G. Roullet, L. Marié |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2009
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 11 (2009) |
| Datensatznummer |
250024031
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Flow close to continental slope are driven by large β topographic effect. This effect
dramatically decreases coherent structure size because of the decrease of Rhines scale. It
implies that eddies are destabilized on the slope. Evolution of different terms of Potential
Vorticity(PV) conservation equation gives information about this process. In deep
ocean, flow is driven by PV advection which allows long lived eddies. But close
to continental slope, β topographic term becomes important. It is responsible of
slope currents variability and allows Coastal Trapped Waves (CTW) generation and
propagation.
Here, mesoscale turbulence interacts with an idealized continental slope in a primitive
equation model. Experiments are performed to study the influence of slope and stratification
on CTW propagation. Those parameters strongly control CTW behaviour along
continental slope. In the one hand, strong stratification and steep slope enhance
insulating nature of continental slope. On the other hand, we observe that wave breaking
occurs easily for weak slope or weak stratification enhancing mixing over the slope. |
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