State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China, 510301.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Sci Rep. 2014 Jun 17;4:5316. doi: 10.1038/srep05316.
During the propagation of coherent mesoscale eddies, they directly or indirectly induce many effects and interactions at different scales, implying eddies are actually serving as a kind of energy carrier or energy source for these eddy-related dynamic processes. To quantify this dynamically significant energy flow, the multi-year averaged horizontal eddy energy fluxes (EEFs) were estimated by using satellite altimetry data and a two-layer model based on hydrographic climatology. There is a strong net westward transport of eddy energy estimated at the mean value of ~13.3 GW north of 5°N and ~14.6 GW at the band 5°S ~ 44°S in the Southern Hemisphere. However, poleward of 44°S east-propagating eddies carry their energy eastward with an averaged net flux of ~3.2 GW. If confirmed, it would signify that geostrophic eddies not only contain the most of oceanic kinetic energy (KE), but also carry and spread a significant amount of energy with them.
在相干中尺度涡旋的传播过程中，它们直接或间接地在不同尺度上引发了许多效应和相互作用，这意味着涡旋实际上是这些与涡旋相关的动力过程的一种能量载体或能量源。为了量化这种具有重要动力学意义的能量流，利用卫星测高数据和基于海洋学气候学的两层模型，估算了多年平均水平涡旋能量通量（EEFs）。在北半球 5°N 以北和南半球 5°S~44°S 带宽内，涡旋能量存在强烈的净向西输送，估计平均值约为 13.3GW。然而，在 44°S 以北，向东传播的涡旋携带它们的能量向东输送，平均净通量约为 3.2GW。如果得到证实，这将意味着地转涡旋不仅包含了大部分海洋动能（KE），而且还携带和传播了大量的能量。
