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Water-mass transformation by turbulent mixing is a key part of the deep-ocean overturning, as it drives the upwelling of dense waters formed at high latitudes. Here, we quantify this transformation and its underpinning processes in a small Southern Ocean basin: the Orkney Deep. Observations reveal a focusing of the transport in density space as a deep western boundary current (DWBC) flows through the region, associated with lightening and densification of the current's denser and lighter layers, respectively. These transformations are driven by vigorous turbulent mixing. Comparing this transformation with measurements of the rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation indicates that, within the DWBC, turbulence operates with a high mixing efficiency, characterized by a dissipation ratio of 0.6 to 1 that exceeds the common value of 0.2. This result is corroborated by estimates of the dissipation ratio from microstructure observations. The causes of the transformation are unraveled through a decomposition into contributions dependent on the gradients in density space of the: dianeutral mixing rate, isoneutral area, and stratification. The transformation is found to be primarily driven by strong turbulence acting on an abrupt transition from the weakly stratified bottom boundary layer to well-stratified off-boundary waters. The reduced boundary layer stratification is generated by a downslope Ekman flow associated with the DWBC's flow along sloping topography, and is further regulated by submesoscale instabilities acting to restratify near-boundary waters. Our results provide observational evidence endorsing the importance of near-boundary mixing processes to deep-ocean overturning, and highlight the role of DWBCs as hot spots of dianeutral upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life cycle of semidiurnal internal tides over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) sector south of the Azores is investigated using in situ, a high-resolution mooring and microstructure profiler, and satellite data, in combination with a theoretical model of barotropic-to-baroclinic tidal energy conversion. The mooring analysis reveals that the internal tide horizontal energy flux is dominated by mode 1 and that energy density is more distributed among modes 1-10. Most modes are compatible with an interpretation in terms of standing internal tides, suggesting that they result from interactions between waves generated over the MAR. Internal tide energy is thus concentrated above the ridge and is eventually available for local diapycnal mixing, as endorsed by the elevated rates of turbulent energy dissipation e estimated from microstructure measurements. A spring-neap modulation of energy density on the MAR is found to originate from the remote generation and radiation of strong mode-1 internal tides from the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex. Similar fortnightly variability of a factor of 2 is observed in e, but this signal's origin cannot be determined unambiguously. A regional tidal energy budget highlights the significance of high-mode generation, with 81% of the energy lost by the barotropic tide being converted into modes >1 and only 9% into mode 1. This has important implications for the fraction (q) of local dissipation to the total energy conversion, which is regionally estimated to be ~0.5. This result is in stark contrast with the Hawaiian Ridge system, where the radiation of mode-1 internal tides accounts for 30% of the regional energy conversion, and q < 0.25. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In studies of ocean mixing, it is generally assumed that small-scale turbulent overturns lose 15%-20% of their energy in eroding the background stratification. Accumulating evidence that this energy fraction, or mixing efficiency R f, significantly varies depending on flow properties challenges this assumption, however. Here, the authors examine the implications of a varying mixing efficiency for ocean energetics and deep-water mass transformation. Combining current parameterizations of internal wave-driven mixing with a recent model expressing R f as a function of a turbulence intensity parameter Re b = ε ν/ νN2, the ratio of dissipation ε ν to stratification N2 and molecular viscosity ν, it is shown that accounting for reduced mixing efficiencies in regions of weak stratification or energetic turbulence (high Re b) strongly limits the ability of breaking internal waves to supply oceanic potential energy and drive abyssal upwelling. Moving from a fixed R f = 1/6 to a variable efficiency R f(Re b) causes Antarctic Bottom Water upwelling induced by locally dissipating internal tides and lee waves to fall from 9 to 4 Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) and the corresponding potential energy source to plunge from 97 to 44 GW. When adding the contribution of remotely dissipating internal tides under idealized distributions of energy dissipation, the total rate of Antarctic Bottom Water upwelling is reduced by about a factor of 2, reaching 5-15 Sv, compared to 10-33 Sv for a fixed efficiency. The results suggest that distributed mixing, overflow-related boundary processes, and geothermal heating are more effective in consuming abyssal waters than topographically enhanced mixing by breaking internal waves. These calculations also point to the importance of accurately constraining R f(Re b) and including the effect in ocean models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present inferences of diapycnal diffusivity from a compilation of over 5200 microstructure profiles. As microstructure observations are sparse, these are supplemented with indirect measurements of mixing obtained from (i) Thorpe-scale overturns from moored profilers, a finescale parameterization applied to (ii) shipboard observations of upper-ocean shear, (iii) strain as measured by profiling floats, and (iv) shear and strain from full-depth lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCP) and CTD profiles. Vertical profiles of the turbulent dissipation rate are bottom enhanced over rough topography and abrupt, isolated ridges. The geography of depth-integrated dissipation rate shows spatial variability related to internal wave generation, suggesting one direct energy pathway to turbulence. The global-averaged diapycnal diffusivity below 1000-m depth is O(10−4) m2 s−1 and above 1000-m depth is O(10−5) m2 s−1. The compiled microstructure observations sample a wide range of internal wave power inputs and topographic roughness, providing a dataset with which to estimate a representative global-averaged dissipation rate and diffusivity. However, there is strong regional variability in the ratio between local internal wave generation and local dissipation. In some regions, the depth-integrated dissipation rate is comparable to the estimated power input into the local internal wave field. In a few cases, more internal wave power is dissipated than locally generated, suggesting remote internal wave sources. However, at most locations the total power lost through turbulent dissipation is less than the input into the local internal wave field. This suggests dissipation elsewhere, such as continental margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous full-depth microstructure measurements of turbulence and finestructure measurements of velocity and density are analyzed to investigate the relationship between turbulence and the internal wave field in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. These data reveal a systematic near-bottom overprediction of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate by finescale parameterization methods in select locations. Sites of near-bottom overprediction are typically characterized by large near-bottom flow speeds and elevated topographic roughness. Further, lower-than-average shear-to-strain ratios indicative of a less near-inertial wave field, rotary spectra suggesting a predominance of upward internal wave energy propagation, and enhanced narrowband variance at vertical wavelengths on the order of 100 m are found at these locations. Finally, finescale overprediction is typically associated with elevated Froude numbers based on the near-bottom shear of the background flow, and a background flow with a systematic backing tendency. Agreement of microstructure- and finestructure-based estimates within the expected uncertainty of the parameterization away from these special sites, the reproducibility of the overprediction signal across various parameterization implementations, and an absence of indications of atypical instrument noise at sites of parameterization overprediction, all suggest that physics not encapsulated by the parameterization play a role in the fate of bottom-generated waves at these locations. Several plausible underpinning mechanisms based on the limited available evidence are discussed that offer guidance for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoscale eddies are universal features of the ocean circulation, yet the processes by which their energy is dissipated remain poorly understood. One hypothesis argues that the interaction of strong geostrophic flows with rough bottom topography effects an energy transfer between eddies and internal waves, with the breaking of these waves causing locally elevated dissipation focused near the sea floor. This study uses hydrographic and velocity data from a 1-yr mooring cluster deployment in the Southern Ocean to test this hypothesis. The moorings were located over a small (~10 km) topographic obstacle to the east of Drake Passage in a region of high eddy kinetic energy, and one was equipped with an ADCP at 2800-m depth from which internal wave shear variance and dissipation rates were calculated. Examination of the ADCP time series revealed a predominance of upward-propagating internal wave energy and a significant correlation ( r = 0.45) between shear variance levels and subinertial near-bottom current speeds. Periods of strong near-bottom flow coincided with increased convergence of eddy-induced interfacial form stress in the bottom 1500 m. Predictions of internal wave energy radiation were made from theory using measured near-bottom current speeds, and the mean value of wave radiation (5.3 mW m−2) was sufficient to support the dissipated power calculated from the ADCP. A significant temporal correlation was also observed between radiated and dissipated power. Given the ubiquity of strong eddy flows and rough topography in the Southern Ocean, the transfer from eddy to internal wave energy is likely to be an important term in closing the ocean energy budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on observations of turbulent dissipation and internal wave-scale flow properties in a standing meander of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) north of the Kerguelen Plateau. The authors characterize the intensity and spatial distribution of the observed turbulent dissipation and the derived turbulent mixing, and consider underpinning mechanisms in the context of the internal wave field and the processes governing the waves' generation and evolution. The turbulent dissipation rate and the derived diapycnal diffusivity are highly variable with systematic depth dependence. The dissipation rate is generally enhanced in the upper 1000-1500 m of the water column, and both the dissipation rate and diapycnal diffusivity are enhanced in some places near the seafloor, commonly in regions of rough topography and in the vicinity of strong bottom flows associated with the ACC jets. Turbulent dissipation is high in regions where internal wave energy is high, consistent with the idea that interior dissipation is related to a breaking internal wave field. Elevated turbulence occurs in association with downward-propagating near-inertial waves within 1-2 km of the surface, as well as with upward-propagating, relatively high-frequency waves within 1-2 km of the seafloor. While an interpretation of these near-bottom waves as lee waves generated by ACC jets flowing over small-scale topographic roughness is supported by the qualitative match between the spatial patterns in predicted lee wave radiation and observed near-bottom dissipation, the observed dissipation is found to be only a small percentage of the energy flux predicted by theory. The mismatch suggests an alternative fate to local dissipation for a significant fraction of the radiated energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct measurements of turbulence levels in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean show a marked enhancement over the Phoenix Ridge. At this site, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is constricted in its flow between the southern tip of South America and the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Observed turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates are enhanced in the regions corresponding to the ACC frontal zones where strong flow reaches the bottom. In these areas, turbulent dissipation levels reach 10−8 W kg−1 at abyssal and middepths. The mixing enhancement in the frontal regions is sufficient to elevate the diapycnal turbulent diffusivity acting in the deep water above the axis of the ridge to 1 × 10−4 m2 s−1. This level is an order of magnitude larger than the mixing levels observed upstream in the ACC above smoother bathymetry. Outside of the frontal regions, dissipation rates are O(10−10) W kg−1, comparable to the background levels of turbulence found throughout most mid- and low-latitude regions of the global ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in the global ocean and make up a substantial fraction of theoceanic kinetic energy. Eddies extract their energy from the general circulation via baroclinicand barotropic instabilities, and some portion of this energy ultimately cascades tosmall-scale turbulence and dissipation. However, the mechanisms that drive this energycascade from the mesoscale eddy field towards turbulent dissipation remain unclear. In allocean basins, satellite altimetry shows that mesoscale eddies drift westward until theyencounter the western boundary, where they disappear from the satellite altimetric signal.This indicates that western boundaries are a prime region for mesoscale energy dissipation.Using ship, mooring and glider-borne measurements, the MerMEED project seeks todetermine the mechanisms of mesoscale energy dissipation in the western boundary of thesubtropical North Atlantic. Here, we present results from a 4-month glider surveybetween November 2017 and March 2018, within 300 km of the shelf break at∼26ºN. During the first half of the glider survey, we sampled an anticyclonic mode water eddythat remained in the study area until late January. During this time, the glider performed threetransects across the eddy (13-23 Nov, 11-31 Dec, and 1-13 Jan). At the eddy core weobserved a mode of 18 ºC water with weak stratification (N&#x003C;0.001 s−1), low potentialvorticity (&#x003C;0.5⋅10-9 s−3) and elevated oxygen concentration (AOU &#x003C; 20 μmol kg−1)between 150 and 500 m (25.9-26.2 kg m−3); but its signal on isopycnal slopes extendeddown to the maximum sampling depth (1000 m). Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rateswere inferred from the fluctuations of glider-derived seawater vertical velocity, duringthe second and third transects. Energy dissipation was reduced at the eddy core(∼0.5⋅10−9 W kg−1), enhanced above within the seasonal pycnocline and the mixedlayer (&#x003E; 5⋅10−9 W kg−1), and below the eddy core (1–1.3⋅10−9 W kg−1). Thesedeep dissipation rates were elevated compared to background levels, away fromdirect eddy influence (≤1⋅10−9 W kg−1). During the third crossing, dissipationrates were enhanced at the western flank of the eddy, both within the mixed layer(10–15⋅10−9 W kg−1), and below the eddy core (∼1.3⋅10−9 W kg−1). In the mixed layer,significant atmospheric cooling, and the advection of relatively warm water by enhancedgeostrophic currents along the western eddy rim, gave rise to conditions favourable forgravitational and symmetric instabilities. Long-wavelength (100-200 m) vertical velocityfluctuations suggest that dissipation below the eddy core could be related to internal wavecapture below the eddy, a possibility that was assessed using ray-tracing simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]