Abstract's details
An Analysis of the Southern Ocean's barotropic response to the wind during the past 20 years: Contributions to Sea-Surface Height variations and to the variability of the ACC transport across the Kerguelen Plateau
CoAuthors
Event: 2016 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting
Session: Science II: From large-scale oceanography to coastal and shelf processes
Presentation type: Type Oral
Contribution: PDF file
Abstract:
The barotropic response of the ocean is known to be a significant contribution to Sea Surface Height (SSH) variations at high latitudes. While we expect the barotropic signal to be larger at subseasonal timescales, it may not be negligible at longer timescales.
Here we examine the Southern Ocean’s barotropic response to the wind at timescales ranging from seasonal to interannual, using simulations from a finite-element barotropic model, assessed against altimeter and GRACE observations. Simulations are in particular used to analyze the variability of the branch of Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that passes across the Kerguelen Plateau through the Fawn Trough, the transport of which was directly measured during 1 year, a series subsequently extended to 20 years thanks to the Topex/Jason altimeter archive.
Here we examine the Southern Ocean’s barotropic response to the wind at timescales ranging from seasonal to interannual, using simulations from a finite-element barotropic model, assessed against altimeter and GRACE observations. Simulations are in particular used to analyze the variability of the branch of Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that passes across the Kerguelen Plateau through the Fawn Trough, the transport of which was directly measured during 1 year, a series subsequently extended to 20 years thanks to the Topex/Jason altimeter archive.