A modelling study of eddy-splitting by an island/seamount

Abstract

Abstract. A mesoscale eddy's trajectory and its interaction with topography under the planetary β and nonlinear effects in the South China Sea are examined using the MIT General Circulation Model (MITgcm). Warm eddies propagate to the southwest while cold eddies propagate to the northwest. The propagation speed of both warm and cold eddies is about 2.4 km day−1 in the model. The eddy trajectory and its structure are affected by an island or a seamount, in particular, under certain conditions, the eddy may split during the interaction with an island/seamount. We focus this research on two parameters R and S (where R and S are two dimensionless parameters of the island size and submergence depth; R is the ratio of the island radius to the eddy radius, and S is the ratio of the seamount submergence depth to the eddy vertical length). The results of sensitivity experiments with varying island or seamount geometry indicate that the eddy would split in the qualitative range of 1∕4  <  R  <  2 and S  <  1∕5. The scale of the secondary eddy split-off decreases as the island diameter or the seamount submergence depth increases. In the splitting process, besides the off-spring eddy, there are also some filaments or eddies with opposite vorticity appearing around the eddy. Eddy-splitting, therefore, is an important way to transform energy from the mesoscale to sub-mesoscale in the ocean.