Life Cycles of Blocking Flows Associated with Synoptic-Scale Eddies: Observed Results and Numerical Experiments

An observational study is presented to confirm that the life cycle of blocking associated with synoptic—scale eddies is a transfer process between dispersion and nondispersion. In addition, numerical experiments are conducted. It is found that the synoptic—scale eddies seem to play a dominant role in the amplification of blocking, while the topography effect appears to play a phase-locking role. At the same time, the synoptic eddies tend to split into two branches during the onset of blocking. This supports the observational results obtained.

FGOALS-s2 Simulation of Upper-level Jet Streams over East Asia: Mean State Bias and Synoptic-scale Transient Eddy Activity

Upper-level jet streams over East Asia simulated by the LASG/IAP coupled climate system model FGOALS-s2 were assessed, and the mean state bias explained in terms of synoptic-scale transient eddy activ- ity （STEA）. The results showed that the spatial distribution of the seasonal mean jet stream was reproduced well by the model, except that following a weaker meridional temperature gradient （MTG）, the intensity of the jet stream was weaker than in National Centers for Environment Prediction （NCEP）/Department of Energy Atmospheric Model Inter-comparison Project II reanalysis data （NCEP2）. Based on daily mean data, the jet core number was counted to identify the geographical border between the East Asian Sub- tropical Jet （EASJ） and the East Asian Polar-front Jet （EAPJ）. The border is located over the Tibetan Plateau according to NCEP2 data, but was not evident in FGOALS-s2 simulations. The seasonal cycles of the jet streams were found to be reasonably reproduced, except that they shifted northward relative to reanalysis data in boreal summer owing to the northward shift of negative MTGs. To identify the reasons for mean state bias, the dynamical and thermal forcings of STEA on mean flow were examined with a focus on boreal winter. The dynamical and thermal forcings were estimated by extended Eliassen-Palm flux （E） and transient heat flux, respectively. The results showed that the failure to reproduce the tripolar-pattern of the divergence of E over the jet regions led to an unsuccessful separation of the EASJ and EAPJ, while dynamical forcing contributed less to the weaker EASJ. In contrast, the weaker transient heat flux partly explained the weaker EASJ over the ocean.

A statistical analysis of mesoscale eddies in the Bay of Bengal from 22–year altimetry data

Eddy properties in the Bay of Bengal are studied from 22 a archiving, validation and interpretation of satellite oceanographic（AVISO） data using a sea level anomaly（SLA）-based eddy identification. A geographical distribution and an eddy polarity, an eddy lifetime and propagation distances, eddy origins and terminations,eddy propagation directions and trajectories, eddy kinetic properties, the evolution of eddy properties,seasonal and interannual variabilities of eddy activities are analyzed in this area. Eddies exist principally in the western Bay of Bengal and most of them propagate westward. The polarity distribution of eddies shows cyclones prefer to occur in the northwest and south of the Bay of Bengal, while anticyclones mainly occur in the east of the bay. Five hundred and sixty-five cyclones and 389 anticyclones with the lifetime that exceeds 30 d are detected during the 22 a period, and there is a preference for the cyclones for all lifetime and propagation distances. The kinetic properties of all observed eddies show the average amplitude of the cyclones is larger than that of the anticyclones, whereas that is opposite for average radius, and their average velocities are basically the same. Moreover, the evolution of eddies properties reveals that the eddies with a long lifetime that exceeds 90 d have a significant double-stage feature of the former 50 d growth period and the dying period after 50 d. For the seasonal variability of the eddies, the cyclones occur more often in spring while the anticyclones occur more often in summer. The analysis of long-lived eddy seasonal distributions shows that there is the obvious seasonal variation of the eddy activities in the Bay of Bengal. The interannual variability of an eddy number shows an obvious negative correlation with the EKE variation.

Mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea and their impact on temperature profiles

Some life history statistics of the mesoscale eddies of the South China Sea (SCS) derived from altimetry data will be further discussed according their different formation periods. A total of three ATLAS (autonomous temperature line acquisition system)mooring buoys data will be analyzed to discuss eddies' impact on temperature profiles.They identify that the intraseasonal variation of SCS thermocline is partly controlled by mesoscale eddies.

Influence of mesoscale eddies on primary production in the South China Sea during spring inter-monsoon period

Mesoscale eddies have been suggested to have an impact on biological carbon fixation in the South China Sea （SCS）. However, their overall contribution to primary production during the spring inter-monsoon pe riod is still unknown. Based on large-scale biological and environmental in situ observations and synchro nous remote sensing data, the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and the primary production, and the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating primary production in different eddy-controlled waters were investigated. The results suggested that the surface chlorophyll a concentrations and water column inte grated primary production （IPP） are significantly higher in cyclonic eddies and lower in the anticyclonic eddies as compared to that in non-eddy waters. Although eddies could affect various environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light availability, nutrient supply is suggested to be the most important one through which mesoscale eddies regulated the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and pri mary production. The estimated IPP in cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are about 29.5% higher and 16.6% lower than the total average in the whole study area, respectively, indicating that the promotion effect of mesoscale cold eddies on the primary production was much stronger than the inhibition effect of the warm eddies per unit area. Overall, mesoscale eddies are crucial physical processes that affect the biological car bon fixation and the distribution pattern of primary production in the SCS open sea, especially during the spring inter-monsoon period.

Effects of Kuroshio intrusion optimization on the simulation of mesoscale eddies in the northern South China Sea

The impacts of Kuroshio intrusion(KI) optimization on the simulation of meso-scale eddies(MEs) in the northern South China Sea(SCS) were investigated based on an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model by comparing two numerical experiments with differences in their form and intensity of KI due to the optimizing topography at Luzon Strait(LS). We found that a reduced KI reduces ME activities in the northern SCS, which is similar to the observations. In this case, the biases of the model related to simulating the eddy kinetic energy(EKE) west of the LS and along the northern slope are remarkably attenuated. The reduced EKE modeling bias is associated with both the reduced number of anti-cyclonic eddies(AEs) and the reduced amplitude of cyclonic eddies(CEs). The EKE budget analysis further suggests that the optimization of the KI will change the EKE by changing the horizontal velocity shear and the slope of the thermocline, which are related to barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, respectively. The former plays the key role in regulating the EKE in the northern SCS due to the changing of the KI. The EKE advection caused by the KI is also important for the EKE budget to the west of the LS.

Three-dimensional properties of mesoscale cyclonic warm-core and anticyclonic cold-core eddies in the South China Sea

In general,a mesoscale cyclonic(anticyclonic)eddy has a colder(warmer)core,and it is considered as a cold(warm)eddy.However,recently research found that there are a number of"abnormal"mesoscale cyclonic(anticyclonic)eddies associated with warm(cold)cores in the South China Sea(SCS).These"abnormal"eddies pose a challenge to previous works on eddy detection,characteristic analysis,eddy-induced heat and salt transports,and even on mesoscale eddy dynamics.Based on a 9-year(2000–2008)numerical modelling data,the cyclonic warm-core eddies(CWEs)and anticyclonic cold-core eddies(ACEs)in the SCS are analyzed.This study found that the highest incidence area of the"abnormal"eddies is the northwest of Luzon Strait.In terms of the eddy snapshot counting method,8620 CWEs and 9879 ACEs are detected,accounting for 14.6%and 15.8%of the total eddy number,respectively.The size of the"abnormal"eddies is usually smaller than that of the"normal"eddies,with the radius only around 50 km.In the generation time aspect,they usually appear within the 0.1–0.3 interval in the normalized eddy lifespan.The survival time of CWEs(ACEs)occupies 16.3%(17.1%)of the total eddy lifespan.Based on two case studies,the intrusion of Kuroshio warm water is considered as a key mechanism for the generation of these"abnormal"eddies near the northeastern SCS.

Observed subsurface eddies near the Vietnam coast of the South China Sea

In this study, subsurface eddies near the Vietnam coast of the South China Sea were observed with in situ observations, including Argo, CTD, XBT and some processed and quality controlled data. Based on temperature profiles from four Argo floats near the coast of Vietnam, a subsurface warm eddy was identified in spring and summer. The multi-year Argo and Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme(GTSPP) data were merged on a seasonal basis based on the data interpolating variational analysis(DIVA) method to reconstruct the three-dimensional temperature structure. There is a warm eddy in the central subsurface at 12.5°N, 111°E below300 m depth in spring, which does not exist in autumn and is weak in winter and summer. From CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas(CARS) and Generalized Digital Environment Model(GDEM) reanalysis data, this subsurface warm eddy is also verified in spring.

Mesoscale oceanic eddies in the South China Sea from 1992 to 2012:evolution processes and statistical analysis

Automated identification and tracking of mesoscale ocean eddies has recently become one research hotspot in physical oceanography. Several methods have been developed and applied to survey the general kinetic and geometric characteristics of the ocean eddies in the South China Sea（SCS）. However, very few studies attempt to examine eddies＇ internal evolution processes. In this study, we reported a hybrid method to trace eddies＇ propagation in the SCS based on their internal structures, which are characterized by eddy centers, footprint borders, and composite borders. Eddy identification and tracking results were represented by a GIS-based spatiotemporal model. Information on instant states, dynamic evolution processes, and events of disappearance, reappearance, split, and mergence is stored in a GIS database. Results were validated by comparing against the ten Dongsha Cyclonic Eddies（DCEs） and the three long-lived anticyclonic eddies（ACEs） in the northern SCS, which were reported in previous literature. Our study confirmed the development of these eddies. Furthermore, we found more DCE-like and ACE-like eddies in these areas from 2005 to 2012 in our database. Spatial distribution analysis of disappearing, reappearing, splitting, and merging activities shows that eddies in the SCS tend to cluster to the northwest of Luzon Island, southwest of Luzon Strait, and around the marginal sea of Vietnam. Kuroshio intrusions and the complex sea floor topography in these areas are the possible factors that lead to these spatial clusters.

Migration of mesoscale eddies across a leaping or penetrating western boundary current in the vicinity of a gap

A 1.5-layer quasi-geostrophic reduced gravity ocean circulation model is used to study the propagation of mesoscale eddies across a western boundary current(WBC) either leaping across or penetrating in an anti-cyclonic path through the gap. The steady leaping WBC nearly blocks all eddies from propagating across it through the gap completely. However, both cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies can migrate across a penetrating WBC in the vicinity of a gap, while inducing an opposite type of eddies on the cyclonic side of the WBC by weakening or strengthening the intrusion of the WBC. Both type of eddies gained strength from the WBC in the course of the propagation across the WBC in the gap. Eddies approaching the gap from the upstream are found to migrate more easily into the western basin due to the advection of the WBC. The migration speeds of the eddies are almost unchanged by the presence of the WBC in all experiments.

Influence of warm eddies on sound propagation in the Gulf of Mexico

An automatic detection method is employed to identify and track eddies in the Gulf of Mexico. The physical parameters of the eddies, such as lifespan, radius, and distribution position are first examined and used to determine the spatio–temporal evolution of a strong warm eddy separated from the Mexico current. Then, the influence of this strong warm eddy on sound propagation during its lifespan are comprehensively analyzed with the parabolic equation and explained by using the normal mode and ray theories. Additionally, the influence of mesoscale eddies on the redistribution of total depth-integrated energy among the normal modes in the deep water is also discussed. The variation of arrival angle is investigated to explain the spreading acoustic energy caused by eddies. Overall, the results show that warm eddies can change the propagation paths and cause the convergence zone to broaden and approach the sound source. Moreover,the warm eddy can disperse sound energy and cause the total depth-integrated energy to incline to a lower normal mode.Throughout the whole of these three periods(eddy generating, eddy maturing, and eddy terminating), the fluctuation in the transmission loss is up to 30 dB(depending on the relative location of eddy center to the source).

Tracking the evolution processes and behaviors of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea：a global nearest neighbor filter approach

The eddy tracking approach is developed using the global nearest neighbor filter（GNNF） to investigate the evolution processes and behaviors of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea（SCS）. Combining the Kalman filter and optimal data association technologies, the GNNF algorithm is able to reduce pairing errors to 0.2% in tracking synthetic eddy tracks, outperforming other existing methods. A total of 4 913 eddy tracks that last more than a week are obtained by the GNNF during 1993–2012. The analysis of a growth and a decay based on 3 445 simple eddy tracks show that eddy radius, amplitude, and vorticity smoothly increase during the first half of lifetime and decline during the second half following a parabola opening downwards. The genesis of eddies mainly clusters northwest and southwest of Luzon Island whereas the dissipations concentrate the Xisha Islands where the underwater bay traps and terminates eddies. West of the Luzon Strait, northwest of Luzon Island, and southeast of Vietnam are regions where eddy splits and mergers are frequently observed. Short disappearances mainly distribute in the first two regions. Moreover, eddy splits generally result in a decrease of the radius and the amplitude whereas eddy mergers induce growing up. Eddy intensity and vorticity, on the contrary, are strengthened in the eddy splits and diminished in mergers.

Effects of mesoscale eddies on the internal solitary wave propagation

The mesoscale eddy and internal wave both are phenomena commonly observed in oceans. It is aimed to investigate how the presence of a mesoscale eddy in the ocean affects wave form deformation of the internal solitary wave propagation. An ocean eddy is produced by a quasi-geostrophic model in f-plane, and the one-dimensional nonlinear variable-coefficient extended Korteweg-de Vries （eKdV） equation is used to simulate an internal solitary wave passing through the mesoscale eddy field. The results suggest that the mode structures of the linear internal wave are modified due to the presence of the mesoscale eddy field. A cyclonic eddy and an anticyclonic eddy have different influences on the background environment of the internal solitary wave propagation. The existence of a mesoscale eddy field has almost no prominent impact on the propagation of a smallamplitude internal solitary wave only based on the first mode vertical structure, but the mesoscale eddy background field exerts a considerable influence on the solitary wave propagation if considering high-mode vertical structures. Furthermore, whether an internal solitary wave first passes through anticyclonic eddy or cyclonic eddy, the deformation of wave profiles is different. Many observations of solitary internal waves in the real oceans suggest the formation of the waves. Apart from topography effect, it is shown that the mesoscale eddy background field is also a considerable factor which influences the internal solitary wave propagation and deformation.

Atmospheric Response to Mesoscale Ocean Eddies over the South China Sea

The South China Sea（SCS） is an eddy-active area. Composite analyses based on 438 mesoscale ocean eddies during 2000–2012 revealed the status of the atmospheric boundary layer is influenced remarkably by such eddies. The results showed cold-core cyclonic（warm-core anticyclonic） eddies tend to cool（warm） the overlying atmosphere and cause surface winds to decelerate（accelerate）. More than 5% of the total variance of turbulent heat fluxes, surface wind speed and evaporation rate are induced by mesoscale eddies. Furthermore, mesoscale eddies locally affect the columnar water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate. Dynamical analyses indicated that both variations of atmospheric boundary layer stability and sea level pressure are responsible for atmospheric anomalies over mesoscale eddies. To reveal further details about the mechanisms of atmospheric responses to mesoscale eddies, atmospheric manifestations over a pair of cold and warm eddies in the southwestern SCS were simulated. Eddy-induced heat flux anomalies lead to changes in atmospheric stability. Thus, anomalous turbulence kinetic energy and friction velocity arise over the eddy dipole, which reduce（enhance） the vertical momentum transport over the cold（warm） eddy, resulting in the decrease（increase） of sea surface wind. Diagnoses of the model＇s momentum balance suggested that wind speed anomalies directly over the eddy dipole are dominated by vertical mixing terms within the atmospheric boundary layer, while wind anomalies on the edges of eddies are produced by atmospheric pressure gradient forces and atmospheric horizontal advection terms.

The Lateral Eddy Viscosity Derived from the Decay of Oceanic Mesoscale Eddies

The relationship of lateral eddy viscosity depending on length scale is estimated with the decay rate of mesoscale eddies identified from sea level anomaly of satellite observations. The eddy viscosity is expressed in terms of the mesoscale eddy parameters according to vortex dynamics. The census of mesoscale eddies shows, in general, that the eddy numbers obey the e-folding decay laws in terms of their amplitude, area and lifetime. The intrinsic values in the e-folding laws are used to estimate the lateral eddy viscosity. Dislike the previous theory that diffusivities are proportional to the length square, the eddy mixing rates (diffusivity and viscosity) from satellite mesoscale eddy datasets are proportional to rs to power of 1.8 (slightly less than 2), where rs is the radius of eddy with radius larger than the Batchelor scale. Additionally, the extrapolation of the eddy mixing to the molecule scale implies that the above power laws may hold until the value of rs is less than O (1 m). These mixing rates with the new parameterizations are suggested to use in numerical schemes. Finally, the climatological distributions of eddy viscosity are calculated.

Statistical characteristics of mesoscale eddies on the continental slope in the northern South China Sea

The continental slope in the northern South China Sea(SCS) is rich in mesoscale eddies which play an important role in transport and retention of nutrients and biota. In this study, we investigate the statistical properties of eddy distributions and propagation in a period of 24 years between 1993 and 2016 by using the altimeter data. A total of 147 eddies are found in the continental slope region(CSR), including 70 cyclonic eddies(CEs) and 77 anticyclonic eddies(ACEs). For those eddies that appear in the CSR, the surrounding areas of Dongsha Islands(DS) and southwest of Taiwan(SWT) are considered as the primary sources, where eddies generated contribute more than 60% of the total. According to the spatial distribution of eddy relative vorticity, eddies are weakening as propagating westward. Although both CEs and ACEs roughly propagate along the slope isobaths, there are discrepancies between CEs and ACEs. The ACEs move slightly faster in the zonal direction, while the CEs tend to cross the isobaths with large bottom depth change. The ACEs generally move further into the basin areas after leaving the CSR while CEs remain around the CSR. The eddy propagation on the continental slope is likely to be associated with mean flow at a certain degree because the eddy trajectories have notable seasonal signals that are consistent with the seasonal cycle of geostrophic current. The results indicate that the eddy translation speed is statistically consistent with geostrophic velocity in both magnitude and direction.

The Rhines effect on the geographical characteristics of altimeter-observed eddies

The Rhines effect may be regarded as an interaction between Rossby waves and turbulence, in which the Rossby waves may radiate away eddy energy when their frequencies are equal or larger than those of the turbulence,thereby deforming and eventually destroying the existing eddies. Through comparing eddy-scale velocity and long Rossby wave phase speed in the oceans, a generalized form of the Rhines effect is examined on the geographical characteristics of altimeter-observed eddies. The results show that the generalized Rhines effect has a much greater influence on eddy characteristics than its classical form, which only considers the simple beta effect due to the meridional gradient of planetary vorticity. The largest amount of eddies are detected in regions where eddy-scale velocity is larger than the critical Rossby-wave phase speed considering a generalized beta effect. The eddies in those regions can grow via an inverse kinetic energy cascade and have much larger amplitudes and sizes. The ＂eddy desert＂ regions outside of the tropical oceans, which have far fewer detected eddies and much weaker eddy amplitudes, lie in areas where the eddy-scale velocity is less than the critical Rossby-wave phase speed. In those regions, the generalized Rhines effect may be a possible mechanism of suppressing eddy growth.

Interaction between Planetary-Scale Diffluent Flow and Synoptic-Scale Waves During the Life Cycle of Blocking

In this paper, a new transient forced quasi-resonant triad interaction theory in a beta channel is proposed to investigate the interaction between planetary-scale diffluent flow composed of zonal wavenumbers 1-3 and synoptic-scale waves produced continuously by a synoptic-scale vorticity source fixed upstream of an incipient blocking region during the life cycle of blocking. It is shown that the superposition of initial three Rossby waves for zonal wavenumbers 1 （monopole）, 2 （dipole）, and 3 （monopole）, which permit triad quasi-resonance, can represent an incipient blocking event. The synoptic-scale eddies may act to amplify the incipient blocking and to excite a blocking circulation with a strong meander, whose flow pattern depends on the initial amplitudes of the planetary waves and both the intensity and location of preexisting synoptic-scale waves. The onset （decay） of the planetary-scale split-flow blocking is mainly represented by a strong increase （decrease） in the amplitude of the zonal wavenumber 2 component, having a dipole meridional structure related to the preexisting synoptic-scale eddies. The typical persistence time of the model blocking was of about 20 days, consistent with observations of blocking patterns. In our model, isolated asymmetric dipole blocking is formed by synoptic-scale waves. The instantaneous fields of total streamfunctions exhibit a remarkable resemblance to the synoptic maps observed during the life cycle of blocking. During the onset stage, the synoptic-scale waves are enhanced and split into two branches around the blocking region due to the feedback of the amplified blocking, in agreement with the observed changes of synoptic-scale waves in real blocking events. In addition, a diagnostic case study of blocking is presented to confirm the forced quasi-resonant triad interaction theory proposed here.

Path transition of the western boundary current with a gap due to mesoscale eddies: a 1.5-layer, wind-driven experiment

Using a 1.5 layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model, we executed numerical simulations to investigate the possibility of a western boundary current (WBC) path transition due to mesoscale eddies based on the background of the Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea (SCS) from the Luzon Strait. Because the WBC existed different current states with respect to different wind stress control parameters, we chose three steady WBC states (loop current, eddy shedding and leaping) as the background flow field and simulated the path transition of the WBC due to mesoscale eddies. Our simulations indicated that either an anticyclonic or cyclonic eddy can lead to path transition of the WBC with different modes. The simulation results also show that the mesoscale eddies can lead to path transition of the WBC from loop and eddy shedding state to leaping state because of the hysteresis effect. The leaping state is relatively stable compared with the mesoscale eddies. Moreover, an anticyclonic eddy is more effective in producing the WBC path transition for the path transition than a cyclonic eddy. Our results may help to explain some phenomena observed regarding the path transition of the Kuroshio due to the mesoscale eddies at the Luzon Strait.

Response of the Kuroshio Current to Eddies in the Luzon Strait

The impact of eddies on the Kuroshio Current in the Luzon Strait (LS) area is investigated by using the sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) satellite observation data and the sea surface height (SSH) assimilation data. The influence of the eddies on the mean current depends upon the type of eddies and their relative position. The mean current is enhanced (weakened) as the cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddy becomes slightly far from it, whereas it is weakened (enhanced) as the cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddy moves near or within the position of the mean current; this is explained as the eddy-induced meridional velocity and geostrophic flow relationship. The anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddy can increase (decrease) the mean meridional flow due to superimposition of the eddy-induced meridional flow when the eddy is within the region of the mean current. However, when the eddy is slightly far from the mean current region, the anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddy tends to decrease (increase) the zonal gradient of the SSH, which thus results in weakening (strengthening) of the mean current in the LS region.