A New Model of Current Retroflection Applied to the Westward Protrusion of the Agulhas Current

Author:

Arruda Wilton1,Zharkov Volodymyr2,Deremble Bruno3,Nof Doron4,Chassignet Eric2

Affiliation:

1. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, and Instituto de Matemática, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2. Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

3. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

4. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

Abstract

Abstract The dynamics of current retroflection and rings shedding are not yet fully understood. In this paper, the authors develop an analytical model of the Agulhas Current retroflection dynamics using three simple laws: conservation of volume, momentum balance, and Bernoulli’s principle. This study shows that, for a retroflecting current with a small Rossby number, this theoretical model is in good agreement with numerical simulations of a reduced-gravity isopycnal model. Otherwise, the retroflection position becomes unstable and quickly propagates upstream, leaving a chain of eddies in its path. On the basis of these findings, the authors hypothesize that the westward protrusion of the Agulhas retroflection and the local “zonalization” of the Agulhas Current after it passes the Agulhas Bank are stable only for small Rossby numbers. Otherwise, the retroflection shifts toward the eastern slope of the Agulhas Bank, where its position stabilizes due to the slanted configuration of the slope. This study shows that this scenario is in good agreement with several high-resolution numerical models.

Publisher

American Meteorological Society

Subject

Oceanography

Cited by 6 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Cape Town, South Africa;Climate Change, Urbanization, and Water Resources;2024

2. Dynamics of the Agulhas Current Influenced by the North–South Shift of Subtropical Front;Journal of Physical Oceanography;2023-12

3. The Observed Agulhas Retroflection Behaviors During 1993–2018;Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans;2021-12

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5. Zonal variability of pelagic Siphonophora (Cnidaria) in the atlantic sector of the southern ocean;Journal of Sea Research;2020-10

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