Abstract
The inverse cascade flux of kinetic energy (KE) and its length scale in the South Indian Countercurrent (SICC) region were investigated using 24-year satellite altimeter daily data from 1993–2016. The evolution of the eddy life cycle in the SICC was presented systemically. It was found that the arrest and inject scales of inverse cascade were within the baroclinic most unstable scale and observed energy-containing eddy scale. The seasonal cycle of the arrest scale, inject scale, and amplitude of the inverse cascade were compared with the eddy kinetic energy seasonal cycle, which revealed a 1.5-month lag of the eddy kinetic energy to the vertical shear of zonal velocity, implying the existence of nonlinear processes during the eddy growth phase. Meanwhile, the anisotropy of the inverse cascade indicated that kinetic energy might be transferred from meridional motions to zonal motions, which is probably caused by β effect. These results would be beneficial for a better understanding of the KE transfer processes in the SICC region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability Statement
The altimeter products have been produced by DUACS with AVISO and distributed by CMEMS. Data could be downloaded from http://marine.copernicus.eu/. The product name is global ocean gridded L4 sea surface heights and derived variables reprocessed (1993-ongoing) and the identifier of product is SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_REP_OBSERVATION_008_047. The World Ocean Atlas 2018 (WOA18) dataset is available at https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/woa18/woa18data.html.
References
Arbic B K, Polzin K L, Scott R B, Richman J G, Shriver J F. 2013. On eddy viscosity, energy cascades, and the horizontal resolution of gridded satellite altimeter products. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 43(2): 283–300, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-11-0240.1.
Chang Y L, Oey L Y. 2014. Instability of the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 44(3): 818–833, https://doi.org/10.1175/Jpo-D-13-0162.1.
Chelton D B, Schlax M G, Samelson R M. 2011. Global observations of nonlinear mesoscale eddies. Progress in Oceanography , 91(2): 167–216, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2011.01.002.
Delman A S, Lee T, Qiu B. 2018. Interannual to multidecadal forcing of mesoscale eddy kinetic energy in the Subtropical Southern Indian Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 123(11): 8 180–8 202, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jc013945.
Ferrari R, Wunsch C. 2010. The distribution of eddy kinetic and potential energies in the Global Ocean. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography , 62(2): 92–108.
Frisch U. 1995: Turbulence: The Legacy of A. N. Kolmogorov. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 296p.
Jia F, Wu L X, Lan J, Qiu B. 2011a. Interannual modulation of eddy kinetic energy in the southeast Indian Ocean by Southern Annular Mode. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 116(C2): C02029, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010jc006699.
Jia F, Wu L X, Qiu B. 2011b. Seasonal modulation of eddy kinetic energy and its formation mechanism in the Southeast Indian Ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 41(4): 657–665, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010jpo4436.1.
Khatri H, Sukhatme J, Kumar A, Verma M K. 2018. Surface ocean enstrophy, kinetic energy fluxes, and spectra from satellite altimetry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 123(5): 3875–3892, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017jc013516.
Menezes V V, Phillips H E, Schiller A, Bindoff N L, Domingues C M, Vianna M L. 2014. South Indian Countercurrent and associated fronts. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 119(10): 6763–6791, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jc010076.
Morrow R, Le Traon P Y. 2012. Recent advances in observing mesoscale ocean dynamics with satellite altimetry. Advances in Space Research , 50(8): 1062–1076, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2011.09.033.
Palastanga V, van Leeuwen P J, Schouten M W, de Ruijter W P M. 2007. Flow structure and variability in the subtropical Indian Ocean: Instability of the South Indian Ocean Countercurrent. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 112(C1): C01001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003395.
Qiu B, Chen S M, Klein P, Sasaki H, Sasai Y. 2014. Seasonal mesoscale and submesoscale eddy variability along the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 44(12): 3079–3098, https://doi.org/10.1175/Jpo-D-14-0071.1.
Qiu B, Scott R B, Chen S M. 2008. Length scales of eddy generation and nonlinear evolution of the seasonally modulated South Pacific Subtropical Countercurrent. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 38(7): 1515–1528, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007jpo3856.1.
Qiu B. 1999. Seasonal eddy field modulation of the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent: TOPEX/Poseidon observations and theory. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 29(10): 2471–2486, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1999)029<2471:Sefmot>2.0.Co;2.
Rhines P B. 1975. Waves and turbulence on a beta-plane. Journal of Fluid Mechanics , 69(JUN10): 417–443, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022112075001504.
Robinson A R. 1983. Eddies in Marine Science. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
Sasaki H, Klein P, Sasai Y, Qiu B. 2017. Regionality and seasonality of submesoscale and mesoscale turbulence in the North Pacific Ocean. Ocean Dynamics , 67(9): 1195–1216, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-017-1083-y.
Scott R B, Wang F M. 2005. Direct evidence of an oceanic inverse kinetic energy cascade from satellite altimetry. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 35(9): 1650–1666, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO2771.1.
Sérazin G, Penduff T, Barnier B, Molines J M, Arbic B K, Müller M, Terray L. 2018. Inverse cascades of kinetic energy as a source of intrinsic variability: a global OGCM study. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 48(6): 1385–1408, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-17-0136.1.
Smith K S, Vallis G K. 2001. The scales and equilibration of Midocean eddies: freely evolving flow. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 31(2): 554–571, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(2001)031<0554:tsaeom>2.0.co;2.
Tulloch R, Marshall J, Hill C, Smith K S. 2011. Scales, growth rates, and spectral fluxes of baroclinic instability in the ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 41(6): 1 057–1 076, https://doi.org/10.1175/2011jpo4404.1.
Wang S H, Liu Z L, Pang C G. 2015. Geographical distribution and anisotropy of the inverse kinetic energy cascade, and its role in the eddy equilibrium processes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , 120(7): 4 891–4 906, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jc010476.
Wunsch C. 1997. The vertical partition of oceanic horizontal kinetic energy and the spectrum of global variability. Journal of Physical Oceanography , 27(8): 1770–1794, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1997)027<1770:tvpooh>2.0.co;2.
Zheng S, Du Y, Li J, Cheng X. 2015. Eddy characteristics in the South Indian Ocean as inferred from surface drifters. Ocean Science , 11(3): 361–371, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-361-2015.
Acknowledgment
We appreciate helpful discussion with Dr. LIU Chuanyu.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41776035, 41676007) and the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (No. 41421005)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, Z., Wang, F., Zheng, J. et al. Seasonal variations of eddy kinetic energy flux in the South Indian Countercurrent region. J. Ocean. Limnol. 38, 1464–1475 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-020-0115-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-020-0115-5