Slope Water Interaction Workshop

23-24 August, 2000

Clark Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Abstract

• Introduction
• Basic Phenmenon
  • May 1999 Slope Water Intrusion (AVHRR)
  • June 1997 Gulf Stream Intrusion (AVHRR)
  • May 1997 Detrainemnt Event (AVHRR)
  • Eddy-Continental Shelf Interaction (Model Results)
  • April 1999 Scotian Shelf Crossover Event (AVHRR)

Overviews

• 1995 Events
• 1997 Events
• 1997 Cruises
• 1999 Events
• 1999 Cruises

Observations and Models

• BIO Moorings
  • June 1997 R/V Parizeau Cruise Track
  • 1997 Southeast Flank Mooring
  • 1999 Northeast Channel Mooring
• Great South Channel Mooring Deployment Cruises
  • Mooring Positions
  • Jan 1997 (OC 296) CTD Stations
  • Aug 1997 (OC 311) CTD Stations
• Eddy Interactions with the Continental Shelf- Model Results
  • No Background Flow
  • Background Shear Flow
• May-June 1997 Detrainment
  • EN301 Cruise Track with AVHRR
• March 1997 SeaSoar- Storm Induced Exchange and Scotian Shelf Crossover
  • Pre-Storm AVHRR
  • Post-Storm AVHRR
  • Survey Chart
• June-July 1997 SeaSoar- Gulf Stream Plume Interactions
  • Survey Chart
  • Early AVHRR (streamer)
  • Mid AVHRR (streamer)
  • Late AVHRR (tendril)
• 1995-1999 Remote Sensing

Eddy Interactions with the Continental Shelf- Model Results
G. Flierl and X. Wang (MIT)

Xiaoming Wang (1992) developed a simple model of an eddy interacting with a continental shelf as part of his PhD thesis. The model assumes the flow is barotropic and considers a step function topography. Initially the fluid is at rest on either side, and, at time t = 0 an anticyclonic vortex is placed to the south of the topography. The code uses contour dynamics methods to follow the motion of the line of water parcels originally along the edge of the shelf and the position of the vortex. As water is drawn offshore, the vortex tubes are stretched and it spins up a cyclonic vortex. Water pushed onshore develops anticyclonic spin (Fig. 1, left side). Following discussions with George Haller (Brown), I added the capability of making a patch of water and following it backwards in time to see where it originated (Fig. 1, right side). I think the picture is rather sensitive to exactly how you define the blob; further work is needed here.

I also added a shear flow to the north on the shelf U = - s*y in the resting state. This restricts the onshelf excursions to narrow filaments and makes the source have more upstream influence (Fig. 2).

The movies (FLI format, similar to FLC, see http://crusty.er.usgs.gov/flc.html) are available by shift-clicking http://lake.mit.edu/~glenn/globec/s00.fli and http://lake.mit.edu/~glenn/globec/s01.fli or s00.fli and s01.fli.