Circulation, retention and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: the role of stratified Taylor columns

Meredith, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7342-7756; Meijers, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3876-7736; Naveira Garabato, Alberto; Brown, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1152-1114; Venables, Hugh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6445-8462; Abrahamsen, Povl ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5924-5350; Jullion, Loic; Messias, Marie-Jose. 2015 Circulation, retention and mixing of waters within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean: the role of stratified Taylor columns. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (1). 547-562. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462

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Abstract/Summary

The waters of the Weddell-Scotia Confluence (WSC) lie above the rugged topography of the South Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean. Meridional exchanges across the WSC transfer water and tracers between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) to the north and the subpolar Weddell Gyre to the south. Here, we examine the role of topographic interactions in mediating these exchanges, and in modifying the waters transferred. A case study is presented using data from a free-drifting, intermediate-depth float, which circulated anticyclonically over Discovery Bank on the South Scotia Ridge for close to four years. Dimensional analysis indicates that the local conditions are conducive to the formation of Taylor columns. Contemporaneous ship-derived transient tracer data enable estimation of the rate of isopycnal mixing associated with this column, with values of O(1000m2/s) obtained. Although necessarily coarse, this is of the same order as the rate of isopycnal mixing induced by transient mesoscale eddies within the ACC. A picture emerges of the Taylor column acting as a slow, steady blender, retaining the waters in the vicinity of the WSC for lengthy periods during which they can be subject to significant modification. A full regional float dataset, bathymetric data and a Southern Ocean state estimate are used to identify other potential sites for Taylor column formation. We find that they are likely to be sufficiently widespread to exert a significant influence on water mass modification and meridional fluxes across the southern edge of the ACC in this sector of the Southern Ocean

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Polar Oceans
Additional Keywords:	Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Taylor Columns, Scotia Sea, Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Southern Ocean, mixing
Date made live:	19 Jan 2015 13:40 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/508438

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010462

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Polar Oceans

Additional Keywords:

Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Taylor Columns, Scotia Sea, Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Southern Ocean, mixing

Date made live:

19 Jan 2015 13:40 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/508438