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A Snapshot of Turbulence in the Northeastern Strait of Magellan
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  • Iossif Lozovatsky,
  • Cristián Escauriaza,
  • Leandro Suarez,
  • Harindra Joseph Fernando,
  • Megan E Williams,
  • Ronald S Coppersmith,
  • Nicolás Mayorga Mayorga
Iossif Lozovatsky
University of Notre Dame

Corresponding Author:ilozovat@nd.edu

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Cristián Escauriaza
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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Leandro Suarez
Departmento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and 4Marine Energy Research & Innovation Center (MERIC)
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Harindra Joseph Fernando
University of Notre Dame
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Megan E Williams
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
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Ronald S Coppersmith
University of Notre Dame
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Nicolás Mayorga Mayorga
Departmento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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Abstract

First-ever measurements of the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate in the northeastern Strait of Magellan (Segunda Angostura region) taken in March 2019 are reported here. At the time of microstructure measurements, the magnitude of the reversing tidal current ranged between 0.8 and 1.2 ms-1. The probability distribution of the TKE dissipation rate in the water interior above the bottom boundary layer was lognormal with a high median value εmed =1.2x10-6 Wkg-1. Strong vertical shear, (1-2)x10-2 s-1 in the weakly stratified water interior ensued a sub-critical gradient Richardson number, Ri<10-1-10-2. In the bottom boundary layer (BBL), the vertical shear and the TKE dissipation rate both decreased exponentially with the distance from the seafloor ζ, leading to a turbulent regime with the eddy viscosity KM~10-3 m2/s, which varied with the time and location, while being independent of the vertical coordinate in the upper part of BBL (for ζ>~2 meters above the bottom).