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The role of transient eddies and standing meanders in an idealized Southern Ocean model
  • Sina Khani,
  • Alistair Adcroft,
  • Malte Jansen
Sina Khani

Corresponding Author:skhani@princeton.edu

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Alistair Adcroft
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Malte Jansen
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Abstract

We examine the role of transient and standing eddies in an idealized model with a Southern Ocean analog and two basins in the Southern hemisphere. We use the new MOM6 code base in an entirely adiabatic configuration, which allows for full equilibrium integration in only 100 years of simulation time. Fine resolution eddy-resolving simulations at 1/16- and 1/8-degree resolutions are performed in cases with and without continental barriers and/or bottom roughness. A time- and zonal-Reynolds averaging approach is used to decompose eddy fluxes into transient eddies and standing meanders. For a flat bottom channel the wind driven overturning circulation is balanced by transient eddies, consistent with previous studies. However, when continental barriers or bottom roughness are present, we find that standing meanders are dominant in the Southern Ocean.