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Lagrangian Coherent Structures Introduced by Overflows

Gustavo M. Marques, Tamay M. Özgökmen, Laurie Padman, Scott Springer
RSMAS, University of Miami
(Abstract received 05/14/2012 for session C)
ABSTRACT

The overflows of deep water produced on the continental shelves around Antarctica are key components of the meridional overturning circulation. Antarctic overflows are notably different that other overflow systems (i.e., Mediterranean and Red Sea overflows), which either get diluted by entrainment or remain attached to topographic slopes over a large distance, in that Antarctic overflows deliver dense continental shelf waters to the abyssal ocean. In this study we compute finite-time Lyapunov exponents (FTLE) using velocity fields derived from idealized numerical simulations of the down-slope transport of dense water under different ambient stratification (homogeneous, linearly stratified and towards realistic). Of particular interest is the vertical structure of the FTLE induced by bottom density currents.