Abstract
Repeat CTD surveys by the R.R.S. Charles Darwin in the Somali Basin at the height of subsequent northeast and southwest monsoons show only small differences in the circulation of the bottom water. About 4 × 106 m6 s-1 moves north along the continental rise of Africa below a zero-velocity surface at the potential isotherm 1.2°C in a deep western-boundary current near 3°S. Cross-equatorial sections suggest that this flow turns eastward near the equator. North of the equator a large mass of cold water is found in the interior, east of the Chain Ridge. The presence of this feature reinforces the evidence that the deep western-boundary current observed south of the equator turns east at the equator and feeds the interior circulation in the northern part of the basin from the equator, and not from the boundary. The deep circulation observed in the Somali Basin is roughly consistent with a flat-bottom uniform upwelling Stommel-Arons calculation with realistic basin geometry, source location and uniform upwelling. However, the model results indicate that the boundary current crosses the equator, whereas the observational analysis suggests that it turns eastward there.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 637-652 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research Papers |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 1991 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
Cite this
Flow of bottom water in the Somali Basin. / Johnson, Gregory C.; Warren, Bruce A.; Olson, Donald.
In: Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research Papers, Vol. 38, No. 6, 01.01.1991, p. 637-652.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Flow of bottom water in the Somali Basin
AU - Johnson, Gregory C.
AU - Warren, Bruce A.
AU - Olson, Donald
PY - 1991/1/1
Y1 - 1991/1/1
N2 - Repeat CTD surveys by the R.R.S. Charles Darwin in the Somali Basin at the height of subsequent northeast and southwest monsoons show only small differences in the circulation of the bottom water. About 4 × 106 m6 s-1 moves north along the continental rise of Africa below a zero-velocity surface at the potential isotherm 1.2°C in a deep western-boundary current near 3°S. Cross-equatorial sections suggest that this flow turns eastward near the equator. North of the equator a large mass of cold water is found in the interior, east of the Chain Ridge. The presence of this feature reinforces the evidence that the deep western-boundary current observed south of the equator turns east at the equator and feeds the interior circulation in the northern part of the basin from the equator, and not from the boundary. The deep circulation observed in the Somali Basin is roughly consistent with a flat-bottom uniform upwelling Stommel-Arons calculation with realistic basin geometry, source location and uniform upwelling. However, the model results indicate that the boundary current crosses the equator, whereas the observational analysis suggests that it turns eastward there.
AB - Repeat CTD surveys by the R.R.S. Charles Darwin in the Somali Basin at the height of subsequent northeast and southwest monsoons show only small differences in the circulation of the bottom water. About 4 × 106 m6 s-1 moves north along the continental rise of Africa below a zero-velocity surface at the potential isotherm 1.2°C in a deep western-boundary current near 3°S. Cross-equatorial sections suggest that this flow turns eastward near the equator. North of the equator a large mass of cold water is found in the interior, east of the Chain Ridge. The presence of this feature reinforces the evidence that the deep western-boundary current observed south of the equator turns east at the equator and feeds the interior circulation in the northern part of the basin from the equator, and not from the boundary. The deep circulation observed in the Somali Basin is roughly consistent with a flat-bottom uniform upwelling Stommel-Arons calculation with realistic basin geometry, source location and uniform upwelling. However, the model results indicate that the boundary current crosses the equator, whereas the observational analysis suggests that it turns eastward there.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0000695435&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0000695435&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0198-0149(91)90003-X
DO - 10.1016/0198-0149(91)90003-X
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0000695435
VL - 38
SP - 637
EP - 652
JO - Deep-Sea Research, Part A: Oceanographic Research Papers
JF - Deep-Sea Research, Part A: Oceanographic Research Papers
SN - 0198-0149
IS - 6
ER -