Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 4 of 4 items for
- Author or Editor: Joyce E. Schmitz x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
The parametric model used by Schmitz and Vastano (1975) to investigate a Gulf Stream cyclonic ring has been applied to successive observations of a Gulf of Mexico anticyclonic ring. Coefficients for a polynomial representation of the transverse streamfunction ψ(r,z) were determined for pairs of eddy diffusivity coefficients. Using the minimum least-squares error residual as a criterion, the best flow pattern for the ring occurred for (Kh ,Kz )=(106,0) cm2 s−1. The total transverse transport through the ring was found to be an order of magnitude larger than that found in the Gulf Stream cyclonic ring.
Abstract
The parametric model used by Schmitz and Vastano (1975) to investigate a Gulf Stream cyclonic ring has been applied to successive observations of a Gulf of Mexico anticyclonic ring. Coefficients for a polynomial representation of the transverse streamfunction ψ(r,z) were determined for pairs of eddy diffusivity coefficients. Using the minimum least-squares error residual as a criterion, the best flow pattern for the ring occurred for (Kh ,Kz )=(106,0) cm2 s−1. The total transverse transport through the ring was found to be an order of magnitude larger than that found in the Gulf Stream cyclonic ring.
Abstract
An entrainment and diffusion model has been applied to successive observations of a decaying Gulf Stream cyclonic ring to investigate changes in the streamline pattern as the ring moved from deep water onto Blake Plateau. Entrainment of water into the ring core is the dominant feature in each field of streamlines. The decay process measured in terms of the time required to replace the ring volume indicates an approximately linear decrease of renewal time as the ring moves into shallow water.
Abstract
An entrainment and diffusion model has been applied to successive observations of a decaying Gulf Stream cyclonic ring to investigate changes in the streamline pattern as the ring moved from deep water onto Blake Plateau. Entrainment of water into the ring core is the dominant feature in each field of streamlines. The decay process measured in terms of the time required to replace the ring volume indicates an approximately linear decrease of renewal time as the ring moves into shallow water.
Abstract
Eight cruises over a 10-month period in the North Atlantic have provided the Cyclonic Ring Experiment with observations of two rings. Life histories, structure and structural changes have been studied with emphasis on the effects of Stream interaction and spindown processes. Ring AL was generated in September 1976 with a central water mass composed of Slope and anticyclonic ring waters. Ring BOB separated from the Stream in March 1977 with a Shelf and Slope Water core. Both rings had a 7-month lifetime, interacted with the Gulf Stream and were regenerated. The Stream interaction altered the core structures, and in the case of BOB, cruise observations show significant changes in ring size and shape. BOB's spatial extent decreased with interaction and increased during spindown while eccentricity of the ring behaved in an opposite manner.
Abstract
Eight cruises over a 10-month period in the North Atlantic have provided the Cyclonic Ring Experiment with observations of two rings. Life histories, structure and structural changes have been studied with emphasis on the effects of Stream interaction and spindown processes. Ring AL was generated in September 1976 with a central water mass composed of Slope and anticyclonic ring waters. Ring BOB separated from the Stream in March 1977 with a Shelf and Slope Water core. Both rings had a 7-month lifetime, interacted with the Gulf Stream and were regenerated. The Stream interaction altered the core structures, and in the case of BOB, cruise observations show significant changes in ring size and shape. BOB's spatial extent decreased with interaction and increased during spindown while eccentricity of the ring behaved in an opposite manner.
Abstract
Field observations provide a data base that supports a comparison of ring structures in terms of the background Sargasso Sea environment. Five ring surveys, three from the 1967 sequence, a big baby ring and ring AL, were selected for this study. Anomalies of temperature, salinity, transport potential energy density, heat content and sound velocity have been examined using a reference which closely approximates Iselin's characteristic T-S relation for the western gyre.
The results for the 1967 sequence demonstrate an initial reduction in anomaly strengths followed by strong ring stability. Comparison of two different rings, possibly equal in age, show the effect of the initial water mass conditions on anomaly strengths. Comparison of a cyclonic ring and the big baby ring reveals similar anomaly strengths and sizes in the same geographical region for rings that are assumed to be two and eleven months in age, respectively. This suggests that big baby rings can initially represent more intense perturbations to the Sargasso Sea than cyclonic ring counterparts.
Abstract
Field observations provide a data base that supports a comparison of ring structures in terms of the background Sargasso Sea environment. Five ring surveys, three from the 1967 sequence, a big baby ring and ring AL, were selected for this study. Anomalies of temperature, salinity, transport potential energy density, heat content and sound velocity have been examined using a reference which closely approximates Iselin's characteristic T-S relation for the western gyre.
The results for the 1967 sequence demonstrate an initial reduction in anomaly strengths followed by strong ring stability. Comparison of two different rings, possibly equal in age, show the effect of the initial water mass conditions on anomaly strengths. Comparison of a cyclonic ring and the big baby ring reveals similar anomaly strengths and sizes in the same geographical region for rings that are assumed to be two and eleven months in age, respectively. This suggests that big baby rings can initially represent more intense perturbations to the Sargasso Sea than cyclonic ring counterparts.
