ALBERT

Description: The mean flow and temporal and spatial variations of the Kuroshio Extension in the region of 140-180 deg E and 30-40 deg N are investigated using altimeter data from the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission (ERM). Mean surface height profiles are estimated along individual tracks by assuming the velocity profile of the Kuroshio Extension to be Gaussian-shaped and by successively fitting this synthetic current's height profile to the residual height data. The mean profiles from ascending and descending tracks are used to derive the mean surface height by an inverse method and to obtain the absolute surface height fields for the first 2.5 yr of the Geosat ERM. Both the mean and the instantaneous height fields thus derived compare well with the available hydrographic data and the SST patterns from the NOAA satellites. Effects of deep mean flow and baroclinic shear are found to be important in explaining the observed propagation speeds.

Description: Methods for in situ calibration of acoustic-Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) are considered for measurement of absolute current profiles from a moving ship. Errors are of two types: sensitivity and alignment. Least square error estimates are given for experimental determination of both factors, for use in the 'water track' or 'bottom tracking' mode. Errors in the estimation of either factor may lead to large errors in derived water velocities, although the major contributions of the two factors arise from different sources and are approximately orthogonal to one another.

Description: The mean sea-surface height and the gravitational geoid are presently estimated via near-surface velocity changes and concurrent sea-level changes along an ascending Geosat subtrack. The velocity measurements were made on three traverses, within ten days, of a Geosat subtrack, by means of an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The mean sea-surface height was estimated as the difference between the instantaneous sea-surface height from ADCP and the Geosat residual sea level. In order to minimize mesoscale errors in the estimate, the along-track geoid estimate was computed as the difference between mean sea-level height from the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission and an estimate of the mean sea-surface height.

Description: An intensive three-dimensional survey of the Antarctic Polar Front was made in the Drake Passage in March 1976. The front, which was imbedded within one of the high-velocity cores of the circumpolar current, is viewed as a water mass boundary demarking the northern extent of near-surface antarctic waters. Within the front, water masses are observed to intrude, one above the other, with characteristic vertical scales of 50–100 m. The intrusions are horizontally anisotropic, being elongated in the alongstream direction and constrained primarily to the upper 800 m of the front. The spatial and temporal persistence of the variability is examined through the analysis of continuous vertical profiles of horizontal velocity, temperature, salinity, and oxygen with discrete sampling of nutrients. Analysis of the velocity data showed the mean current flowing to the NNE with speeds of the order of 30–40 cm s−1 in the upper 600 m, with temporal variability over a 28-hour ‘yo-yo’ due primarily to internal gravity waves. The thermohaline variability was not internal wave induced but rather was associated with nearly isentropic advection of different water masses across the front. Cold fresh and warm salty intrusions did not conserve potential density, however, and double-diffusive transfers are strongly suggested as being crucial to an understanding of the dynamics of the intrusions. Applying a model (Joyce, 1977) for lateral mixing we estimate poleward temperature and salinity fluxes due to interleaving of 0.086°C cm s−1 and 0.069‰ cm s−1, respectively. If these values are typical, interleaving could play a significant role in large-scale balance of salt and, to a lesser extent, heat for the Southern Ocean.