Jets and Transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Drake Passage
Abstract
In December 2003, a hydrographic section across the Drake Passage was carried out by R/V Aka-demik Sergei Vavilov from King George Island to Tierra del Fuego with a Seabird 911 and lowered Doppler current (ADCP) profilers. A total of 25 stations were occupied across the passage from the surface to the bottom. The geostrophic water transport by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) above the bottom reference level is estimated at 111 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3/s), while the transport above the 3000 dbar reference level is equal to 97 Sv. These values are close to the smallest ones in the record of measurements of water transport through the Drake Passage since 1975. The geostrophic velocities are compared with the LADCP and shipborne ADCP measurements.
About the Authors
E. G. MorozovRussian Federation
Moscow
R. Yu. Tarakanov
Russian Federation
Moscow
I. Ansorge
South Africa
Rondebosch
S. Swart
South Africa
Rondebosch; Stellenbosch
References
1. Sijp W. P., England M. H., Effect of the Drake Passage through flow on global climate, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 34, 1254—1266 (2004).
2. Sijp W. P., England M. H. On the role of the Drake Passage in controlling the stability of the ocean’s thermo- haline circulation. J. Climate, 18, 1957—1966 (2005).
3. Garcia M. A., Blade I., Cruzado A. et al. Observed variability of water properties and transports on the World Ocean Circulation Experiment SR1b section across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. J. Geophys. Res., V. 107 (C10), 3162—3180 (2002).
4. Meredith M. P., Vassie J. M., Heywood K. J., Spencer R. On the temporal variability of the transport through Drake Passage. J. Geophys. Res. V. 101 (C10), 22485—22494 (1996).
5. Whitworth T., Peterson R. G. Volume transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current from bottom pressure measurements. J. Phys. Oceanogr. V. 15 (6), 810—816 (1985).
6. Petersen N. D., Stramma L. Upper-level circulation in the South Atlantic, Prog. Oceanogr., V. 41, 281—352 (1991).
7. Cunningham S. A., Alderson S. G., King B. A., Brandon M. A. Transport and variability of the Antarctic Cir- cumpolar Current in Drake Passage. J. Geophys. Res., V. 108 (C5), 8084—8101 (2003).
8. Whitworth T. Monitoring the transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current at Drake Passage. J. Phys. Oceanogr., V. 13 (11), 2045 (1983).
9. Zyryanov V. N., Severov D. N. Water circulation in the Falkland Patagonia region and its seasonal variability. Okeanologiya, V. 29, 782—787 (1979).
10. Gordon A. L., Molinelli E., Baker T. Large-scale relative dynamic topography of the Southern Ocean. J. Geophys. Res., V. 83, 3023—3032 (1978).
11. Koshlyakov M. N., Gladyshev S. V., Tarakanov R. Yu., Fedorov D. A. Currents in the Drake Passage Based on the Observations in November of 2010. Oceanology, V. 51, N. 3, 2012, 299—308.
Review
For citations:
Morozov E.G., Tarakanov R.Yu., Ansorge I., Swart S. Jets and Transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Drake Passage. Fundamental and Applied Hydrophysics. 2014;7(3):23-28.