Evolution of the open-sea eddy ALGERS'98 in the Algerian Basin with Lagrangian trajectories and remote sensing observations

The westward evolution of an open-sea anticyclonic eddy along the western Algerian Basin is shown, for the first time, by means of 15 buoy trajectories and remote sensing observations. For 3 months, the buoy trajectories described several anticyclonic loops in periods of 4–21 days. The eddy's movement, translation, and rotation were separated with a kinematic model, resulting in a mean translation speed of 2 km/day, which fits the self-propulsion speed predicted on theoretical models for isolated eddies on a beta plane. Fluctuations in translation speed were associated with advection of the mean flow and topographic interactions. Both mechanisms changed the eddy's horizontal shape from circular to elliptical, inducing fluctuations in its swirl velocity and solid-body rotation. The initial stage of the eddy is an isolated asymmetric dipole, comprised by a small cyclone and a large anticyclone, the latter generated from a frontal instability, which under the Coriolis term acquires anticyclonic relative vorticity. During its first days of life, the anticyclonic eddy was shallow Ro=0.9 and small (diameter less than 50 km). Later on, it reached a diameter of 150 km and a vertical structure of 3 km (Ro=0.1). A retrospective analysis with infrared images shows that the eddy's generation took place at about 3–4°E. Then, the eddy completed a counterclockwise circuit never before reported in other studies and ended up at the entrance of the Algerian Basin, where the interaction with the topography and the coastal instability induced its decay. The eddy's life span was 10 months. Computations of the heating rate following clusters of buoy trajectories show fluctuations throughout the eddy's journey, induced by advection and a seasonal warming.     

Northern Adriatic Sea surface circulation and temperature/pigment fields in September and October 1997

Satellite images of surface chlorophyll-a concentration measured by the sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor (SeaWiFS) and of sea surface temperature derived from advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) measurements, combined with in-situ drifter measurements of surface currents, and ancillary wind, Po River discharge and surface salinity data, are used to describe the surface dynamics in the northern Adriatic during the period September–October 1997.The satellite observations revealed very complex mesoscale dynamics, with time scales of a day or two and length scales of about 10 km, including the meandering and instability of basin-scale currents (e.g., the western coastal layer), jets/filaments and eddies. In addition, the two typical patterns of the Po River plume are observed and qualitatively explained in terms of wind forcing. A basin-wide double gyre pattern spreads the rich runoff water across most of the northern Adriatic from mid-September to early October, following Bora wind events and under stratified sea conditions. In contrast, in late October the Po plume is confined to the coast due to weaker winds and de-stratified conditions. This variability in the Po River plume extension is also confirmed by in-situ salinity measurements.     

Comparison between a reanalyzed product by 3-dimensional variational assimilation technique and observations in the Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea

Reanalyzed products from a MOM3-based East Sea Regional Ocean Model with a 3-dimentional variational data assimilation module (DA-ESROM), have been compared with the observed hydrographic and current datasets in the Ulleung Basin (UB) of the East/Japan Sea (EJS). Satellite-borne sea surface temperature and sea surface height data, and in-situ temperature profiles have been assimilated into the DA-ESROM. The performance of the DA-ESROM appears to be efficient enough to be used in an operational ocean forecast system.Comparing with the results from Mitchell et al. [Mitchell, D. A., Watts, D. R., Wimbush, M., Teague, W.J., Tracey, K. L., Book, J. W., Chang, K.-I., Suk, M.-S., Yoon, J.-H., 2005a. Upper circulation patterns in the Ulleung Basin. Deep-Sea Res. II, 52, 1617-1638.], the DA-ESROM fairly well simulates the high variability of the Ulleung Warm Eddy and Dok Cold Eddy as well as the branching of the Tsushima Warm Current in the UB. The overall root-mean-square error between 100 m temperature field reproduced by the DA-ESROM and the observed 100-dbar temperature field is 2.1 °C, and the spatially averaged grid-to-grid correlation between the two temperature fields is high with a mean value of 0.79 for the inter-comparison period.The DA-ESROM reproduces the development of strong southward North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) in summer consistent with the observational results, which is thought to be an improvement of the previous numerical models in the EJS. The reanalyzed products show that the NKCC is about 35 km wide, and flows southward along the Korean coast from spring to summer with maximum monthly mean volume transport of about 0.8 Sv in August–September.     

Sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability in the Bay of Biscay, inferred from satellite altimeter data

Twelve years (1993–2005) of altimetric data, combining different missions (ERS-1/2, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 and Envisat), are used to analyse sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability in the Bay of Biscay at different time-scales. A specific processing of coastal data has been applied, to remove erroneous artefacts. Likewise, an optimal interpolation has been used, to create a series of regional Sea Level Anomaly maps, merging data sets from two satellites.The sea level presents a trend of about 2.7 mm/year, which is within the averaged values of sea level rise in the global ocean. Frequency spectra show that the seasonal cycle is the main time-scale affecting the sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability. The maximum sea level occurs in October, whilst the minimum is observed in April. The steric effect is the cause of this annual cycle. The Northern French shelf/slope presents intense variability which is likely due to internal tides. Some areas of the ocean basin are also characterised by intense variability, due to the presence of eddies.The Eddy Kinetic Energy, in turn, is higher from December to May, than during the rest of the year and presents a weak positive trend from April 1995 to April 2005. Several documented mesoscale events, occurring at the end of 1997 and during 1998, are analysed. Altimetry maps prove to be a useful tool to monitor swoddy-like eddies from their birth to their decay, as well as the inflow of seasonal slope water current into the southeastern corner of the Bay of Biscay.     

Periods and energy dissipations of a novel TLD rectangular tank with angle-adjustable baffles

A novel tuned liquid damper (TLD) rectangular tank with two angle-adjustable baffles was presented. The numerical analysis was performed using the commercial code FLUENT. The standard kinetic energy and dissipation rate turbulent model was employed, which was solved using volume of fluid (VOF) method able to treat both the free surface motion and the viscous stresses over the rigid walls accurately. The relationship between the natural periods of water and the angles of its baffles was studied by numerical sim- ulating of a case, and the changes of energy dissipations were investigated. The natural periods and dampers of the novel TLD can be changed in a wide range by adjusting the baffles' angle, thus it is more effective in controlling the vibration of structures in a wide frequency range.