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| Levy, Marina; Ferrari, Raffaele; Franks, Peter J. S.; Martin, Adrian P.; Riviere, Pascal. |
| A common dynamical paradigm is that turbulence in the upper ocean is dominated by three classes of motion: mesoscale geostrophic eddies, internal waves and microscale three-dimensional turbulence. Close to the ocean surface, however, a fourth class of turbulent motion is important: submesoscale frontal dynamics. These have a horizontal scale of O(1-10) km, a vertical scale of O(100) m, and a time scale of O(1) day. Here we review the physical-chemical- biological dynamics of submesoscale features, and discuss strategies for sampling them. Submesoscale fronts arise dynamically through nonlinear instabilities of the mesoscale currents. They are ephemeral, lasting only a few days after they are formed. Strong submesoscale vertical velocities can drive... |
| Tipo: Text |
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| Ano: 2012 |
URL: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00483/59486/62356.pdf |
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