University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Thermohaline circulation of shallow tidal seas

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 09:58 authored by Hill, AE, Brown, J, Fernand, L, Holt, J, Horsburgh, KJ, Roger Proctor, Raine, R, Turrell, WR
The mechanisms controlling the temperature and salinity structure of shallow continental shelf seas have been understood for over thirty years, yet knowledge of what drives their large-scale circulation has remained relatively unknown. Here we describe a decade long programme of measurements, using satellite-tracked drifting buoys on the northwest European shelf, to draw attention to a striking picture of highly organised thermohaline circulation consisting of narrow, near surface, fast flowing jets. These are ubiquitous above sharp horizontal gradients in bottom temperatures and/or salinities. The circulation phenomena we describe are likely to be prevalent on all similar, wide, tidally energetic continental shelves including those off north-eastern China, Argentina and parts of the Arctic. The robust, repeatable observation of the key role of jets above bottom fronts results in a fundamental reassessment of how we view the dynamics of shelf seas. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

History

Publication title

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume

35

Issue

11

Pagination

L11605

ISSN

0094-8276

Department/School

Integrated Marine Observing System

Publisher

Amer Geophysical Union

Place of publication

2000 Florida Ave Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20009

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC