In the ocean, mesoscale eddies are everywhere. In fact, about 90% of the ocean’s kinetic energy is contained within these ubiquitous, ~100 km swirling vortices. We know how these eddies form, through a process known as baroclinic instability, where density surfaces are tilted too steeply and become unstable. What remains unclear however, is what happens to this energy when eddies die. This knowled ...[Read More]
Why do mesoscale eddies disappear at ocean western boundaries?
The R/V F.G. Walton Smith docked at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science campus of the University of Miami. (Fig. 1; credit: Gwyn Evans)