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Detailed Reference Information |
Flament, P., Armi, L. and Washburn, L. (1985). The evolving structure of an upwelling filament. Journal of Geophysical Research 90: doi: 10.1029/JC080i014p11765. issn: 0148-0227. |
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The evolution of an upwelling filament was studied over a 2-week period by using satellite infrared images, and its thermohaline structure was mapped in situ. The surface velocity field consisted of a large meander extending offshore for at least 300 km. The northern branch was ~40 km wide, flowing offshore at a peak velocity of 0.55 m/s; the southern branch was flowing inshore at 0.35 m/s. The offshore transport was more than 106 m3 s-1, larger than the Ekman transport. The meander was unstable to barotropic instabilities at a scale of ~15 km. From a succession of images a surface convergence &ggr;≈8 ⋅ 10-6 s-1 over 20 km was observed near the sharp front limiting the filament to the south. The ~350 m width of the front indicates a separation of scales between the large-scale strain field and the mixed-layer turbulence parameterized with an eddy diffusion coefficient KH≈0.25 m2 s-1. Thermohaline layers that originated at the convergence near the sharp front suggest a secondary circulation subducting denser waters to the south underneath the lighter northern water. |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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