Open-ocean interior moored sensor turbulence estimates, below a Meddy

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution temperature sensors to analyze turbulence in the ocean interior, revealing short-lived overturning cells driven by inertial shear and the influence of Meddy passages on internal wave coherence.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed turbulence estimates from moored temperature data in the ocean interior, highlighting the effects of Meddy presence on internal wave coherence and turbulence characteristics.

Findings

Turbulence occurs in short-lived overturns less than 0.5 hours.

Meddy passages increase internal wave coherence over 40 m.

Turbulence is mainly driven by inertial shear during Meddy presence.

Abstract

A one-year time series of moored high-resolution temperature T-sensor data from 1455 m depth on a 3900 m long line in about 5300 m of water in the NE-Atlantic Canary Basin are dominated by salinity (over-)compensated intrusions arising from the effects of Mediterranean outflow waters, which are commonly organized as Meddies. During the passage of a Meddy-core above the T-sensors, no intrusions were observed, thereby making it possible to use the temperature records to quantify turbulence parameters. The present data show that these ocean-interior turbulence estimates are from short-lived (less than 0.5 h) rather intense overturning cells with vertical scales of <5 m. Because the turbulence inertial subrange is found to extend into the internal wave band, the overturns are predominantly driven by shear associated with inertial currents. Kinetic energy, current shear and temperature variance peak at sub-inertial frequencies during the Meddy passage, suggesting wave trapping in the warm anti-cyclonic eddy and/or weakly stratified layers. The observations further show that internal wave displacements are coherent over vertical scales of up to 40 m during the presence of the Meddy compared with vertical coherence scales of less than 25 m during the more common no-Meddy conditions of double diffusion intrusions.