期刊
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
卷 119, 期 8, 页码 4745-4760出版社
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2014JC010008
关键词
-
类别
资金
- Carnegie-IAS Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE) Western Indian Ocean Regional Initiative in Marine Science and Education (WIO-RISE) network
Recently it has been shown that anticyclonic eddies are generated in the Comoros Basin contesting the long-held notion of a single large anticyclonic cell, the Comoros Gyre. Limited knowledge exists about the mesoscale activity within the basin, a potential key source of variability for the Mozambique Channel and subsequently the Agulhas Current. In this paper an automated eddy tracking scheme, applied to satellite altimetry data and a high-resolution model simulation, is used to determine the characteristics of the anticyclonic eddies generated in the Comoros Basin. The generation and characteristics of cyclonic eddies are also investigated. The eddy tracking scheme revealed that anticyclonic eddies are primarily generated west of the tip of Madagascar due to barotropic instabilities whereas cyclonic eddies are mainly generated along the northwest coast of Madagascar as a result of baroclinic instabilities. Anticyclonic eddies, with a mean lifespan of about 3 months, reside in the basin for half their lifespan before propagating into the Mozambique Channel. On the other hand, the majority of cyclonic eddies, with a similar mean lifespan, dissipate within the basin. Initially, the anticyclones, with translation speeds of 6-8 km d(-1) and mean radii of 80-100 km, follow the trajectory of the North East Madagascar Current and turn south upon reaching the African coast. The cyclonic eddies tend to be smaller (similar to 60 km) and have slower translation speeds (2.5-3.5 km d(-1)) than their anticyclonic counterparts.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据