Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Properties and Origins of the Anisotropic Eddy-Induced Transport in the North Atlantic

Igor Kamenkovich Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

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Irina I. Rypina Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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Pavel Berloff Department of Mathematics and Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

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Print Publication:
01 Mar 2015
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-14-0164.1
Page(s):
778–791
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Abstract

This study examines anisotropic transport properties of the eddying North Atlantic flow, using an idealized model of the double-gyre oceanic circulation and altimetry-derived velocities. The material transport by the time-dependent flow (quantified by the eddy diffusivity tensor) varies geographically and is anisotropic, that is, it has a well-defined direction of the maximum transport. One component of the time-dependent flow, zonally elongated large-scale transients, is particularly important for the anisotropy, as it corresponds to primarily zonal material transport and long correlation time scales. The importance of these large-scale zonal transients in the material distribution is further confirmed with simulations of idealized color dye tracers, which has implications for parameterizations of the eddy transport in non-eddy-resolving models.

Corresponding author address: Igor Kamenkovich, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149. E-mail: ikamenkovich@rsmas.miami.edu

Abstract

This study examines anisotropic transport properties of the eddying North Atlantic flow, using an idealized model of the double-gyre oceanic circulation and altimetry-derived velocities. The material transport by the time-dependent flow (quantified by the eddy diffusivity tensor) varies geographically and is anisotropic, that is, it has a well-defined direction of the maximum transport. One component of the time-dependent flow, zonally elongated large-scale transients, is particularly important for the anisotropy, as it corresponds to primarily zonal material transport and long correlation time scales. The importance of these large-scale zonal transients in the material distribution is further confirmed with simulations of idealized color dye tracers, which has implications for parameterizations of the eddy transport in non-eddy-resolving models.

Corresponding author address: Igor Kamenkovich, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149. E-mail: ikamenkovich@rsmas.miami.edu
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