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- Title
The Role of Small‐Scale Topography in Modulating Eddy Scale in the Northern South China Sea.
- Authors
Yang, Zhibin; Jing, Zhao; Zhai, Xiaoming
- Abstract
A high‐resolution nested model initialized with either smooth or synthetically generated rough topography is used to investigate the role of small‐scale topography in modulating eddy scales in the northern South China Sea. It is found that while adding small‐scale topography leads to negligible changes in the surface eddy scales and their seasonal cycle, it significantly reduces the bottom eddy scales by about 30%–40%. This reduction in bottom eddy scales is mainly contributed by three processes: wave generation due to flow interaction with rough topography and subsequent wave propagation into the ocean interior, forward energy cascade associated with processes such as nonpropagating form drag effect, and the influence of small‐scale topography on the deep boundary current. Our results highlight the importance of small‐scale topography in setting the eddy length scales particularly in the deep ocean. Plain Language Summary: Oceanic eddies are an important component in the world's oceans. However, processes affecting the eddy length scales in the ocean are less well known. Here we investigate the role of small‐scale rough topography in setting eddy scales in a high‐resolution nested modeling system. We conduct two high‐resolution (△x ∼500 m) model experiments: a smooth topography experiment and a rough topography experiment. We find that the bottom eddy scales are significantly reduced whereas the surface eddy scales remain unchanged after adding small‐scale rough topography. Key Points: Adding small‐scale topography leads to negligible changes to the surface eddy scales and their seasonal cycleThe bottom eddy scales reduce by about 30%–40% after adding small‐scale topographyThis reduction in bottom eddy scales is contributed by wave generation, forward energy cascade and modification of deep boundary current
- Subjects
DRAG (Aerodynamics); TOPOGRAPHY; EDDIES; THEORY of wave motion; MOUNTAIN wave
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2023, Vol 128, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
2169-9275
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JC019524