@article{89d1ff1c143f4cd18be7663723de35a5,
title = "Submesoscale Vertical Velocities Enhance Tracer Subduction in an Idealized Antarctic Circumpolar Current",
abstract = "Upper-ocean submesoscale fronts, with their associated strong vertical velocities, are often claimed to play a significant role in subducting tracers into the interior. The role of these submesoscale processes in restratifying the mixed layer is now well recognized, but whether they simultaneously flux tracers through the base of the boundary layer remains an open question. We vary the resolution in a semirealistic channel model to control turbulent processes at various scales and study their influence on tracers. It is found that the submesoscale-permitting simulations flux far more tracer downward than the lower-resolution simulations: The 1-km simulation takes up 50% more tracer compared to the 20-km simulation, despite the increased restratifying influence of the resolved submesoscale processes. A full frequency-wave number cross-spectra of the vertical velocity and vertical tracer flux show that the high-frequency inertia-gravity waves that appear in the highest-resolution simulation play no role in irreversible downward tracer transport.",
keywords = "carbon uptake, mesoscales, ocean tracers, subduction, submesoscales, tracers",
author = "Dhruv Balwada and Smith, {K. Shafer} and Ryan Abernathey",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank Takaya Uchida, Roy Barkan, and Baylor Fox-Kemper for helpful discussions. We are grateful for support from NASA award NNX16AJ35G. We also thank NYU, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, and Columbia University for the use of high-performance computing facilities. The Columbia University's Shared Research Computing Facility project is supported by NIH Research Facility Improvement grant 1G20RR030893-01 and associated funds from the New York State Empire State Development, Division of Science Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) contract C090171, both awarded 15 April 2010. Scripts used in this analysis and for generating figures in this manuscript can be obtained on the author's github (github.com/dhruvbalwada/submesoscale_subduction_GRL). Funding Information: We would like to thank Takaya Uchida, Roy Barkan, and Baylor Fox-Kemper for helpful discussions. We are grateful for support from NASA award NNX16AJ35G. We also thank NYU, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, and Columbia University for the use of high-performance computing facilities. The Columbia University{\textquoteright}s Shared Research Computing Facility project is supported by NIH Research Facility Improvement grant 1G20RR030893-01 and associated funds from the New York State Empire State Development, Division of Science Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) contract C090171, both awarded 15 April 2010. Scripts used in this analysis and for generating figures in this manuscript can be obtained on the author{\textquoteright}s github (github.com/dhruvbalwada/ submesoscale_subduction_GRL). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright}2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",
year = "2018",
month = sep,
day = "28",
doi = "10.1029/2018GL079244",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "45",
pages = "9790--9802",
journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",
issn = "0094-8276",
publisher = "American Geophysical Union",
number = "18",
}