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Eddy-fying Research: Understanding Properties of Southern Ocean Eddies Intern: Bridget Zakrzewski Mentor: Ivy Frenger How can we combine surface and sub-surface data to observe mesoscale eddies? Slide 2 What Is An Eddy? Whirlpools Part of ocean turbulence Importance: - Mixing and water-mass transport - Tracer distribution & ocean dynamics Drake Passage Eddy, NASA (Southern Hemisphere) Slide 3 How Can We Observe Eddies? Altimetry (AVISO 1992) (spatio-temporal coverage, no sub-surface data) In-Situ Data (Argo early 2000s) (Vertical structure, less spatio-temporal coverage) Both (get the benefits of each!) Slide 4 ACC Eddies Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) surrounds Antarctica ACC is largest current in the world Southern Ocean dynamics Eddy anomalies shown above. Note: North of ACC = outside of ACC, South of ACC = inside of ACC South ACC North ACC Slide 5 Eddies near South Western Australia (or Weird Eddies) Cyclones with positive anomaly Maximum life span of 72+ weeks (Courtesy of Ivy Frenger) Slide 6 Weird Eddy Anomalies (3+ months) (Sorted by eddy lifespan) Bin1: 82wks Slide 7 Possible Origins of Weird Eddies Warm surface boundary currents Eddy-rich currents Slide 8 Potential Future Research Take a closer look at salinity anomaly crossing Observe eddies near other boundary currents Use absolute values, not anomalies Understand differences in slopes for anticyclones vs. cyclones Slide 9 Acknowledgements For the continuous support throughout my summer experience, I would like to thank: Ivy Frenger, Mentor Professor Jorge Sarmiento, Host AOS/GFDL community, Support Princeton Environment Institute (PEI)