Vortex–wall interaction on the β-plane and the generation of deep submesoscale cyclones by internal Kelvin Waves–current interactions

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we investigate the vortex–wall interaction on the β-plane, using a submesoscale and internal waves resolving model in an idealised context. Our results bring new insights on the dynamics of oceanic mesoscale eddies as they drift toward a western boundary. We show that there exists a strong cyclone/anticyclone asymmetry in the interaction, contrary to what was suggested in previous studies: anticyclones cannot drift meridionally along the wall because of internal Kelvin Waves–current interactions. This interaction is shown to be an efficient mechanism to generate small coherent submesoscale cyclones, which can travel hundreds of kilometres into the interior of the ocean.

KEYWORDS:

• Vortex
• boundary
• wave–current interaction
• submesoscale

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) via a full grant for Charly de Marez's PhD. This work is also a contribution to PRC 1069 “Meso and submesoscale vortices in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean”, funded by CNRS and RFBR. Simulations were performed using the HPC facilities DATARMOR of “Pôle de Calcul Intensif pour la Mer” at Ifremer, Brest, France. Model outputs are available upon request. We gratefully acknowledge N. Lahaye and J. Gula for helpful discussions.

Absolute dynamic topography products were produced and distributed by the Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) (http://www.marine.copernicus.eu). Global HYCOM re-analysis were downloaded from the dedicated repository https://www.hycom.org/dataserver/gofs-3pt1/reanalysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) via a full grant for Charly de Marez's PhD. This work is also a contribution to PRC 1069 “Meso and submesoscale vortices in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean”, funded by CNRS and RFBR.