Energy pathways and structures of oceanic eddies from the ECCO2 State Estimate and Simplified Models

Studying oceanic eddies is important for understanding and predicting ocean circulation and climate variability. The central focus of this dissertation is the energy exchange between eddies and mean ow and banded structures in the low-frequency component of the eddy eld. A combination of a realistic eddy-permitting ocean state estimate and simplied theoretical models is used to address the following speci c questions. (1) What are the major spatial characteristics of eddy-mean ow interaction from an energy perspective? Is eddy-mean ow interaction a local process in most ocean regions? (2) The banded structures in the low-frequency eddy eld are termed striations. How much oceanic variability is associated with striations? How does the time-mean circulation, for example a subtropical gyre or constant mean ow, inuence the origin and characteristics of striations? How much do striations contribute to the energy budget and tracer mixing?

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Physical Oceanography

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Chen, Ru, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Carl Wunsch and Glenn Flierl.

• Joint Program in Physical Oceanography.
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79154

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/79154