Showing papers by "Kenneth H. Brink published in 2000"

The upper-ocean response to monsoonal forcing in the Arabian Sea: seasonal and spatial variability

Abstract: Observations from four towed profiler surveys undertaken between December 1994 and October 1995 examine the seasonal and spatial variability of the upper ocean response to the Monsoon cycle in the Arabian Sea. Although observed atmospheric forcing agrees well with modern climatologies, cross-basin patterns of mixed-layer depth and water properties observed in 1994–1995 are not entirely consistent with an upper-ocean response dominated by Ekman pumping. During the winter monsoon, the mixed-layer deepens dramatically with distance offshore. Surface cooling intensifies with offshore distance, and a one-dimensional response dominated by convective overturning could explain observed wintertime mixed-layer depths. Except for waters associated with a filament extending offshore from the Omani coast, mixed-layer depths and water properties show only modest cross-basin contrasts during the Southwest Monsoon. Filament waters differ from surrounding mid-basin waters, having shallow mixed-layers and water properties similar to those of waters upwelled near the Omani coast. In September, following the Southwest Monsoon, waters within 1000 km of the Omani coast have cooled and freshened, with marked changes in stratification extending well into the pycnocline. Estimates of Ekman pumping and wind-driven entrainment made using the Southampton Oceanographic Center 1980–1995 surface flux and the Levitus mixed-layer climatologies indicate that during the Southwest Monsoon wind-driven entrainment is considerably stronger than Ekman pumping. Inshore of the windstress maximum, Ekman pumping partially counters wind-driven entrainment, while offshore the two processes act together to deepen the mixed-layer. As Ekman pumping is too weak to counter wind-driven mixed-layer deepening inshore of the windstress maximum, another mechanism must act to maintain the shallow mixed-layers seen in our observations and in climatologies. Offshore advection of coastally upwelled water offers a mechanism for maintaining upper ocean stratification that is consistent with observed changes in upper ocean water properties. Ekman upwelling will modulate wind-driven entrainment, but these results indicate that the primary mechanisms acting inshore of the windstress maximum are wind-driven mixing and horizontal advection.

The Northeast Monsoon's impact on mixing, phytoplankton biomass and nutrient cycling in the Arabian Sea

Abstract: In the northern Arabian Sea, atmospheric conditions during the Northeast (winter) Monsoon lead to deep convective mixing. Due to the proximity of the permanent pycnocline to the sea surface, this mixing does not penetrate below 125 m. However, a strong nitracline is also present and the deep convection results in significant nitrate flux into the surface waters. This leads to nitrate concentrations over the upper 100 m that exceed 4 μM toward the end of the monsoon. During the 1994/1995 US JGOFS/Arabian Sea expedition, the mean areal gross primary production over two successive Northeast Monsoons was determined to be 1.35 gC/m2/d. Thus, despite the deep penetrative convection, high rates of primary productivity were maintained. An interdisciplinary model was developed to elucidate the biogeochemical processes involved in supporting the elevated productivity. This model consisted of a 1-D mixed-layer model coupled to a set of equations that tracked phytoplankton growth and the concentration of the two major nutrients (nitrate and ammonium). Zooplankton grazing was parameterized by a rate constant determined by shipboard experiments. Model boundary conditions consist of meteorological time-series measured from the surface buoy that was part of the ONR Arabian Sea Experiment's central mooring. Our numerical experiments show that elevated surface evaporation, and the associated salinization of the mixed layer, strongly contributes to the frequency and penetration depth of the observed convective mixing. Cooler surface temperatures, increased nitrate entrainment, reduced water column stratification, and lower near-surface chlorophyll a concentrations all result from this enhanced mixing. The model also captured a dependence on regenerated nitrogen observed in nutrient uptake experiments performed during the Northeast Monsoon. Our numerical experiments also indicate that variability in mean pycnocline depth causes up to a 25% reduction in areal chlorophyll a concentration. We hypothesize that such shifts in pycnocline depth may contribute to the interannual variations in primary production and surface chlorophyll a concentration that have been previously observed in this region.

A view of the 1993-1994 California Current based on surface drifters, floats, and remotely sensed data

Abstract: Near-surface drifters were deployed in the California Current System during the period 1993–1994 in order to study mean and eddy currents. The deployment scheme allowed a 2 year period where data density was high enough to make meaningful estimates of eddy statistics and of seasonal mean currents and variances on a 5° grid. Eddy variability, which tended to be isotropic, was higher near the coast (standard deviations around 0.2 m s−1) and decreased offshore (down to ∼0.1 m s−1). Seasonal mean surface flow west of California was southward during all seasons: if a Davidson Current existed during 1993–1995, it was probably either short-lived or only found closer to the coast than our study area, i.e., within 100–150 km of shore. In some cases, drifter populations within a discrete feature were high enough to allow some detailed resolution of its behavior. We note a tendency for individual eddies (which can last for up to 3–5 months) to drift westward at rates of O(5 km day−1). Not all eddies in the region are surface-intensified. There is clear evidence for at least the occasional presence of a thin, meandering southward jet in the region that can be 1000 km or more long. This jet can be identified with that found in the Coastal Transition Zone program in association with cool filaments. The jet appears to become broader and slower south of Point Conception. We hypothesize (on the basis of others' results as well as ours) that the eddies that are strongest at the surface result primarily from instabilities on a southward alongshore mean current and that eddies that are maximal at depth are spawned by the northward undercurrent.

Geostrophic Turbulence over a Slope

Abstract: The authors examine freely evolving geostrophic turbulence, in two layers over a linearly sloping bottom. The initial flow is surface trapped and subdeformation scale. In all cases with a slope, two components are found: a collection of surface vortices, and a bottom-intensified flow that has zero surface potential vorticity. The rate of spinup and the scale of the bottom flow depend on L[ F2U1/b 2, which measures the importance of interfacial stretching to the bottom slope, with small values of L corresponding to a slow spinup and stronger along-isobath anisotropy. The slope also affects the mean size of the surface vortices, through the dispersal of flow at depth and by altering vortex stability. This too can be characterized in terms of the parameter, L.