Submesoscale Coherent Structures on the Continental Shelf

• Published in: Journal of physical oceanography Vol. 47; no. 12; pp. 2949 - 2976
• Main Authors: Dauhajre, Daniel P., McWilliams, James C., Uchiyama, Yusuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston American Meteorological Society 01.12.2017
• Subjects: Bottom stress; Continental shelves; Density; Density gradients; Diurnal variations; Filaments; Frontogenesis; Fronts; Headlands; Heat flux; Heat transfer; Isobaths; Life cycle; Momentum balance; Ocean models; Oceanic vortices; Phenomenology; Pressure gradients; Regions; Shallow water; Simulation; Thermal winds; Velocity; Velocity gradient; Velocity gradients; Vertical mixing; Vertical velocities; Vorticity; Water circulation; Water column; Water depth; Waterfronts

Discovery and analysis of submesoscale variability O (0.3–30) km on the continental shelf is made possible by a high-resolution (Δ x = 75 m) Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) simulation of the Southern California Bight (SCB). This variability is manifest in ubiquitous yet ephemeral coherent st...