1.2.4 Convection and mixing over topography

Dense plumes generated by localized cooling on the continental shelf of the ocean may be influenced by rotation when the deformation radius is smaller than the width of the cooling region. Rather than gravity plumes, the mechanism for moving dense fluid down the shelf is then through geostrophic eddies. The simulation shown in the figure 1.8 (blue is cold dense fluid, red is warmer, lighter fluid) employs the non-hydrostatic capability of MITgcm to trigger convection by surface cooling. The cold, dense water falls down the slope but is deflected along the slope by rotation. It is found that entrainment in the vertical plane is reduced when rotational control is strong, and replaced by lateral entrainment due to the baroclinic instability of the along-slope current.

Figure 1.8: MITgcm run in a non-hydrostatic configuration to study convection over a slope.

Copyright © 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Last update 2011-01-09