Seasonality of the mesoscale inverse cascade as inferred from global scale-dependent eddy energy observations

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(8), (2022): 1677-1691, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0269.1.Oceanic mesoscale motions including eddies, meanders, fronts, and filaments comprise a dominant fraction of oceanic kinetic energy and contribute to the redistribution of tracers in the ocean such as heat, salt, and nutrients. This reservoir of mesoscale energy is regulated by the conversion of potential energy and transfers of kinetic energy across spatial scales. Whether and under what circumstances mesoscale turbulence precipitates forward or inverse cascades, and the rates of these cascades, remain difficult to directly observe and quantify despite their impacts on physical and biological processes. Here we use global observations to investigate the seasonality of surface kinetic energy and upper-ocean potential energy. We apply spatial filters to along-track satellite measurements of sea surface height to diagnose surface eddy kinetic energy across 60–300-km scales. A geographic and scale-dependent seasonal cycle appears throughout much of the midlatitudes, with eddy kinetic energy at scales less than 60 km peaking 1–4 months before that at 60–300-km scales. Spatial patterns in this lag align with geographic regions where an Argo-derived estimate of the conversion of potential to kinetic energy is seasonally varying. In midlatitudes, the conversion rate peaks 0–2 months prior to kinetic energy at scales less than 60 km. The consistent geographic patterns between the seasonality of potential energy conversion and kinetic energy across spatial scale provide observational evidence for the inverse cascade and demonstrate that some component of it is seasonally modulated. Implications for mesoscale parameterizations and numerical modeling are discussed.This work was generously funded by NSF Grants OCE-1912302, OCE-1912125 (Drushka), and OCE-1912325 (Abernathey) as part of the Ocean Energy and Eddy Transport Climate Process Team

Impact of slowdown of Atlantic overturning circulation on heat and freshwater transports

Recent measurements of the strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation at 26°N show a 1 year drop and partial recovery amid a gradual weakening. To examine the extent and impact of the slowdown on basin wide heat and freshwater transports for 2004–2012, a box model that assimilates hydrographic and satellite observations is used to estimate heat transport and freshwater convergence as residuals of the heat and freshwater budgets. Using an independent transport estimate, convergences are converted to transports, which show a high level of spatial coherence. The similarity between Atlantic heat transport and the Agulhas Leakage suggests that it is the source of the surface heat transport anomalies. The freshwater budget in the North Atlantic is dominated by a decrease in freshwater flux. The increasing salinity during the slowdown supports modeling studies that show that heat, not freshwater, drives trends in the overturning circulation in a warming climate

Defining Mediterranean and Black Sea biogeochemical Subprovinces and Synthetic ocean indicators using mesoscale oceanographic features

The Mediterranean and Black Seas are semi-enclosed basins characterized by high environmental variability and growing anthropogenic pressure, which has led to increasing need for a bioregionalization of the oceanic environment at local and regional scales that can be used as a geographical reference with managerial applications. We aim to develop synthetic indices of the key oceanographic dynamics of each region to quantify baselines from which to assess variability and change. To do this, we compile a data set of 101 months (2002-2010) of a variety of both “classical” (i.e., sea surface temperature, surface chlorophyll a, and bathymetry) and “mesoscale” (i.e., eddy kinetic energy, finite-size Lyapunov exponents, and surface frontal gradients) ocean features that we use to characterize the surface ocean variability. We employ a k-means clustering algorithm to objectively define biogeochemical regions based on classical features, and for the first time, on mesoscale features and a combination of both classical and mesoscale features. Principal components analysis is then performed on the oceanographic variables to define integrative indices to monitor at monthly resolutions the environmental changes within each resultant region. Using both the classical and mesoscale features, we find five biogeochemical regions for the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Interestingly, the use of mesoscale variables contributes highly in the delineation of the open ocean. The first axis of the principal component analysis is explained primarily by classical ocean features and the second axis is explained by mesoscale features. Biogeochemical regions identified by the present study can be useful within the European management framework as an objective geographical framework of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the integrative environmental indices developed here can be used to monitor variability and long-term change.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Impact of slowdown of Atlantic overturning circulation on heat and freshwater transports

Recent measurements of the strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation at 26°N show a 1 year drop and partial recovery amid a gradual weakening. To examine the extent and impact of the slowdown on basin wide heat and freshwater transports for 2004–2012, a box model that assimilates hydrographic and satellite observations is used to estimate heat transport and freshwater convergence as residuals of the heat and freshwater budgets. Using an independent transport estimate, convergences are converted to transports, which show a high level of spatial coherence. The similarity between Atlantic heat transport and the Agulhas Leakage suggests that it is the source of the surface heat transport anomalies. The freshwater budget in the North Atlantic is dominated by a decrease in freshwater flux. The increasing salinity during the slowdown supports modeling studies that show that heat, not freshwater, drives trends in the overturning circulation in a warming climate

Ship-based contributions to global ocean, weather, and climate observing systems

The role ships play in atmospheric, oceanic, and biogeochemical observations is described with a focus on measurements made within 100 m of the ocean surface. Ships include merchant and research vessels, cruise liners and ferries, fishing vessels, coast guard, military, and other government-operated ships, yachts, and a growing fleet of automated surface vessels. The present capabilities of ships to measure essential climate/ocean variables and the requirements from a broad community to address operational, commercial, and scientific needs are described. Following the guidance from the OceanObs'19 organizing committee, the authors provide a vision to expand observations needed from ships to understand and forecast the exchanges across the ocean-atmosphere interface. The vision addresses (1) recruiting vessels to improve both spatial and temporal sampling, (2) conducting multi-variate sampling on ships, (3) raising technology readiness levels of automated shipboard sensors and ship-to-shore data communications, (4) advancing quality evaluation of observations, and (5) developing a unified data management approach for observations and metadata that meets the needs of a diverse user community. Recommendations are made focusing on integrating private and autonomous vessels into the observing system, investing in sensor and communications technology development, developing an integrated data management structure that includes all types of ships, and moving towards a quality evaluation process that will result in a subset of ships being defined as mobile reference ships that will support climate studies. We envision a future where commercial, research, and privately-owned vessels are making multivariate observations using a combination of automated and human-observed measurements. All data and metadata will be documented, tracked, evaluated, distributed, and archived to benefit users of marine data. This vision looks at ships as a holistic network, not a set of disparate commercial, research, and/or third-party activities working in isolation, to bring these communities together for the mutual benefit of all

Satellite Salinity Observing System: Recent Discoveries and the Way Forward

Advances in L-band microwave satellite radiometry in the past decade, pioneered by ESA’s SMOS and NASA’s Aquarius and SMAP missions, have demonstrated an unprecedented capability to observe global sea surface salinity (SSS) from space. Measurements from these missions are the only means to probe the very-near surface salinity (top cm), providing a unique monitoring capability for the interfacial exchanges of water between the atmosphere and the upper-ocean, and delivering a wealth of information on various salinity processes in the ocean, linkages with the climate and water cycle, including land-sea connections, and providing constraints for ocean prediction models. The satellite SSS data are complimentary to the existing in situ systems such as Argo that provide accurate depiction of large-scale salinity variability in the open ocean but under-sample mesoscale variability, coastal oceans and marginal seas, and energetic regions such as boundary currents and fronts. In particular, salinity remote sensing has proven valuable to systematically monitor the open oceans as well as coastal regions up to approximately 40 km from the coasts. This is critical to addressing societally relevant topics, such as land-sea linkages, coastal-open ocean exchanges, research in the carbon cycle, near-surface mixing, and air-sea exchange of gas and mass. In this paper, we provide a community perspective on the major achievements of satellite SSS for the aforementioned topics, the unique capability of satellite salinity observing system and its complementarity with other platforms, uncertainty characteristics of satellite SSS, and measurement versus sampling errors in relation to in situ salinity measurements. We also discuss the need for technological innovations to improve the accuracy, resolution, and coverage of satellite SSS, and the way forward to both continue and enhance salinity remote sensing as part of the integrated Earth Observing System in order to address societal needs

Ocean dynamics and thermodynamics in the tropical Indo- Pacific region

The Indonesian archipelago links the tropical Indian and western Pacific Oceans, so transmission of oceanic and atmospheric energy across the archipelago has the potential to impact both basins. The network of straits and passages within the archipelago provides a conduit for the transmission of ocean signals. To first order, relatively warm, fresh water flows from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean; this is known as the Indonesian Throughflow. Wave energy at a variety of timescales can impact the Indonesian Throughflow, with potential consequences for the entire Indo-Pacific region. Atmospheric signals can also be transmitted across the Indonesian archipelago. For example, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a coupled system of strong convective and wind anomalies, propagates eastward from the western Indian Ocean through to the central Pacific Ocean at intraseasonal (30- to 90-day) timescales. The goal of this research is to characterize some of the ways in which oceanic and atmospheric energy is transmitted through the Indo-Pacific region. This thesis presents results from three studies that use in situ and satellite observations as well as simple models to examine these links. The effect of sub-surface topography is assessed through two studies that examine the properties of wave energy propagating into the Indonesian Throughflow region from the Indian Ocean. Pressure gauge measurements of two tsunamis demonstrate that the complex topography of the archipelago controls the propagation of high-frequency energy through dissipation, reflection, refraction, and resonant amplification. A study of Kelvin waves generated by wind anomalies over the equatorial Indian Ocean uses velocity and temperature measurements within the Indonesian archipelago to show that intraseasonal wave energy is also effectively controlled by bathymetry. Atmospheric links across the Indonesian archipelago are evaluated through an observational study of MJO dynamics. In situ observations from Argo profiling floats reveal the signature of the MJO on upper ocean temperature and salinity in both the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, illustrating that the atmosphere is an effective corridor for energy moving eastward over the Indo-Pacific regio