Abstract
Using the mesoscale eddy trajectory atlas product derived from satellite altimeter data from 1993 to 2016, this study analyzes statistical characteristics and seasonal variability of mesoscale eddies in the Banda Sea of the Indonesian seas. The results show that there were 147 mesoscale eddies that occurred in the Banda Sea, of which 137 eddies were locally generated and 10 originated from outside. The total numbers of cyclonic eddies (CEs, clockwise) and anticyclonic eddies (AEs, anticlockwise) are 76 and 71, respectively. Seasonally, the number of CEs (AEs) is twice larger than the number of AEs (CEs) in winter (summer). In winter, CEs are distributed in the southern and AEs in the northern basins, respectively, but the opposite thing occurs in summer, i.e., the polarities of mesoscale eddies observed at the same location reverse seasonally. The mechanisms of polarity distribution reversal (PDR) of mesoscale eddies are examined with reanalysis data of ocean currents and winds. The results indicate that the basin-scale vorticity, wind stress curl, and the meridional shear of zonal current reverse seasonally, which are favorable to the PDR of mesoscale eddies. The possible generation mechanisms of mesoscale eddies include direct wind forcing, barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, of which the direct wind forcing should play the dominant role.
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Acknowledgements
The mesoscale eddy trajectory atlas product is downloaded from Archiving Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Data in Oceanography (AVISO), the Centre National d’Ettudes Spatiales (CNES) of France (https://www.aviso.altimetry.fr). The Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA v3.3.1) reanalysis monthly average data are downloaded from (http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~ocean/index_files/soda3.3.1_mn_download.htm). The ERA-Interim numerical forecast reanalyzed monthly average 10 m “winds are downloaded from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) (https://apps.ecmwvf.int/datasets/data/interim-full-moda/levtype=sfc/). We thank Hailong Liu, Pengfei Lin and Hao Chen for the discussion.
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Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41776034; the Special Project of Global Change and Air and Sea Interaction under contract Nos GASI-IPOVAI-01-02 and GASI-02-SCS-YGST2-02; the Guangdong Province First-Class Discipline Plan under contract Nos CYL231419012 and 231819002.
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Chen, B., Xie, L., Zheng, Q. et al. Seasonal variability of mesoscale eddies in the Banda Sea inferred from altimeter data. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 39, 11–20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1665-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1665-2