Spectral signatures of the tropical Pacific dynamics from model  and altimetry: a focus on the meso-/submesoscale range

Tchilibou, Michel; Gourdeau, Lionel; Morrow, Rosemary; Serazin, Guillaume; Djath, Bughsin; Lyard, Florent

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1283-2018

Articles | Volume 14, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1283-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1283-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 14, issue 5

Research article

|

24 Oct 2018

Research article |

| 24 Oct 2018

Spectral signatures of the tropical Pacific dynamics from model and altimetry: a focus on the meso-/submesoscale range

Michel Tchilibou, Lionel Gourdeau, Rosemary Morrow, Guillaume Serazin, Bughsin Djath, and Florent Lyard

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Final revised paper (published on 24 Oct 2018)
Preprint (discussion started on 28 Jun 2018)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC1: 'reviewer comments', Tom Farrar, 01 Aug 2018
- AC1: 'response to Tom Farrar', lionel gourdeau, 18 Sep 2018
- AC2: 'response to the referee 2', lionel gourdeau, 18 Sep 2018
RC2: 'Review', Anonymous Referee #2, 29 Aug 2018
- AC2: 'response to the referee 2', lionel gourdeau, 18 Sep 2018
- AC1: 'response to Tom Farrar', lionel gourdeau, 18 Sep 2018

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Anna Mirena Feist-Polner on behalf of the Authors (20 Sep 2018) Author's response

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (28 Sep 2018) by John M. Huthnance

Dear Authors
Thank-you for your revised manuscript and the work to address the referee comments. Now I am asking just for some “technical corrections” (see comments below) after which it should go direct to the Copernicus Editorial system for publication (I.e. without further intervention on my part). It will be copy-edited so you should check that the final version keeps your intended meaning. Thank-you for publishing in Ocean Science.
Yours sincerely
John Huthnance

Comments
Page 2 (Abstract) line 41. “flattening” -> “so flatten”?

Page 3
Line 86. “unsolved”. The referee did not like “unresolved” and I am not happy about “unsolved”. Maybe omit altogether (does the sentence meaning need a word here)? Or use a phrase to explain that internal tides are missing/omitted from . .?
Line 92. “lower” -> “lesser” or “shallower”

Page 4
Line 95. “flatten the spectral slope calculation if” -> “flatten the calculated spectral slope if”
Line 100. “at” -> “to”.
Line 134. “term” -> “terms”

Page 7 line 255. “ frequencies greater than the 10-days” is unclear. Frequency is in cycles per day. Period is in days.

Page 8
Line 279. “Willet et al.”
Line 287. “triggers” -> “triggered”

Page 9 line 343. “each equatorial, and off equatorial bands.” -> “each band, equatorial and off equatorial.”?

Page 10.
Line 351. “shift of energy towards the smaller scales”. I don’t quite see this. To my eye the meridional and zonal spectra have much the same shape, the meridional spectrum being more energetic at all wavenumbers.
Line 362. “linearly” -> “linear”

Page 11
Line 397. “that” -> “those”
Line 419. “k-4 to k-5” -> “k-4 and k-5” (because you used “between”)

Page 13 line 489. “spectra” -> “spectrum”.

Page 15
Lines 582-3. “When geostrophic velocities are used to calculate EKE rather than the total surface flow,” -> “When geostrophic velocities (rather than the total surface flow) are used to calculate EKE”?
Line 595. “10°x10°”

Figure 6. Blue line is now magnitude so legend within figure ought to suggest this: not “Iso”
Line 1070. Delete “;”
Line 1072. “. . spectra are . .”

Line 1087 (fig 8 caption). “. . Fig. 9 . .”

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Short summary

This paper is motivated by the next SWOT altimetric mission dedicated to the observation of mesoscale and submesoscale oceanic features. It focuses on tropical areas with a strong discrepancy in the spectral signature between altimetry and models. The paper reviews the spectral signature of tropical turbulence which presents a rich variety of phenomena depending on the latitudinal dependence of the Coriolis force. Internal tides observed by altimetry explain the discrepancy with the model.