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Signature of mesoscale eddies in satellite sea surface salinity data
Author(s) -
Melnichenko Oleg,
Amores Angel,
Maximenko Nikolai,
Hacker Peter,
Potemra James
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/2016jc012420
Subject(s) - ocean gyre , mesoscale meteorology , eddy , geology , sea surface height , sss* , climatology , advection , oceanography , boundary current , subtropics , sea surface temperature , ocean current , geography , meteorology , turbulence , physics , mathematical optimization , mathematics , fishery , biology , thermodynamics
A persistent signature of coherent mesoscale eddies in sea surface salinity (SSS) is revealed by analyzing the relationship between satellite SSS and sea surface height (SSH) variability in an eddy‐following reference frame. Our analysis focuses on mid‐ocean eddies in two representative regions, the southern Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. The resulting composite averages reveal a clear signature of mesoscale eddies in satellite SSS with typical SSS anomalies of 0.03–0.05 psu. The spatial structure of eddy‐induced SSS perturbations can be characterized as a superposition of a dipole structure, arising from horizontal advection of the background SSS gradient by eddy velocity field, and a monopole structure related to the eddy core. The observed relationships between SSS and SSH anomalies are used to provide a regional assessment of the role of mesoscale eddies in the ocean freshwater transport in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.