154157 - Remote energy sources for mixing in the Indonesian Seas.pdf (3.53 MB)
Remote energy sources for mixing in the Indonesian Seas
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 14:45 authored by Pang, C, Maxim NikurashinMaxim Nikurashin, Pena-Molino, B, Sloyan, BMThe role of the Indonesian Seas in climate is attributed to the intense mixing observed throughout the region. Mixing cools the surface temperature and hence modifies the atmospheric convection centered over the region. Mixing also controls the heat exchange between the Pacific and Indian Oceans by transforming water-mass properties while they transit through the region. Mixing in the Indonesian Seas has long been identified to be driven locally by tides. Here we show that the observed mixing can also be powered by the remotely generated planetary waves and eddies. We use a regional ocean model to show that the Indonesian Seas are a sink of the energy generated in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. We estimate that 1.7 GW of the remotely generated energy enters the region across all straits. The energy flux is surface intensified and characterized by a convergence, implying dissipation and mixing, within the straits and along topography. Locally, energy convergence associated with this process is comparable in magnitude to tidal energy dissipation, which dominates the deep ocean.
Funding
Australian Research Council
History
Publication title
Nature CommunicationsVolume
13Article number
6535Number
6535Pagination
1-6ISSN
2041-1723Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Nature Publishing GroupPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
© 2022. The Authors. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Repository Status
- Open