Articles | Volume 15, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1545-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1545-2019
Research article
 | 
25 Nov 2019
Research article |  | 25 Nov 2019

Two typical merging events of oceanic mesoscale anticyclonic eddies

Zi-Fei Wang, Liang Sun, Qiu-Yang Li, and Hao Cheng

Related authors

GEM: a dynamic tracking model for mesoscale eddies in the ocean
Qiu-Yang Li, Liang Sun, and Sheng-Fu Lin
Ocean Sci., 12, 1249–1267, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-1249-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-1249-2016, 2016
Short summary
Technical Note: Watershed strategy for oceanic mesoscale eddy splitting
Q. Y. Li and L. Sun
Ocean Sci., 11, 269–273, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-269-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-269-2015, 2015
Short summary

Cited articles

Amores, A., Jordà, G., Arsouze, T., and Le Sommer, J.: Up to what extent can we characterize ocean eddies using present-day gridded altimetric products?, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 123, 7220–7236, 2018. 
Assassi, C., Morel, Y., Vandermeirsch, F., Chaigneau, A., Pegliasco, C., Morrow, R., Colas, R., Fleury, S., Carton, X., and Klein, P.: An index to distinguish surface-and subsurface-intensified vortices from surface observations, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 46, 2529–2552, 2016. 
Ballarotta, M., Ubelmann, C., Pujol, M.-I., Taburet, G., Fournier, F., Legeais, J.-F., Faugère, Y., Delepoulle, A., Chelton, D., Dibarboure, G., and Picot, N.: On the resolutions of ocean altimetry maps, Ocean Sci., 15, 1091–1109, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1091-2019, 2019. 
Bashmachnikov, I. L., Sokolovskiy, M. A., Belonenko, T. V., Volkov, D. L., Isachsen, P. E., and Carton, X.: On the vertical structure and stability of the Lofoten vortex in the Norwegian Sea, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 128, 1–27, 2017. 
Behringer, D. W. and Xue, Y.: Evaluation of the global ocean data assimilation system at NCEP: The Pacific Ocean[C]//Proc. Eighth Symp. on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface, Seattle, Wash: AMS 84th Annual Meeting, Washington State Convention and Trade Center, 11–15 January 2004 (data available at: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/gridded/data.godas.html, last access: 18 November 2019). 
Short summary
The unresolved paradox about the merging of two anticyclonic mesoscale eddies is studied. While the conservation laws of mass and total circulation were satisfied, the conservation of AM required inclusion of the orbital AM. Both the conservation of circulation and the orbital AM were overlooked in previous theoretical studies. The eddy kinetic energy decreased due to fusion, but the eddy potential energy increased. This behaves like a large-scale energy pump in inverse energy cascades.