Energy Exchange between Jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Synoptic Eddies in the Drake Passage and Scotia Sea

Abstract

We study the energy exchange between jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and synoptic eddies generated by them in the surface layer of the ocean in the Drake Passage and Scotia Sea based on 22-year-long satellite altimetry time series from the French CLS Agency (DT Global–MADT–Upd product, http://www.aviso.altimetry.fr) under the assumption, based on observations, that each of the jets is confined between two fixed contour lines of the absolute dynamic topography of the ocean. We calculate and analyze the 22-year evolution of the kinetic energy of each ACC jet and cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies generated by it. We demonstrate the fundamental dependence of fluctuations in jet energy on the phase of their meander and eddy formation, as well as their back absorption by jets. We calculate the mean and extreme energetic characteristics of jets and eddies and compare the jets in terms of the intensity of the generated eddies.