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Seismic imaging of a large horizontal vortex at abyssal depths beneath the Sub-Antarctic Front

Nature Geoscience volume 5, pages 542–546 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

The global ocean and climate systems are strongly influenced by physical oceanographic processess within the Southern Ocean1. In particular, the exchange of water between subtropical North Atlantic Deep Water and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current controls the rate at which the latter upwells and mixes2. Despite its significance, the details of this exchange are poorly understood. Acoustic imaging of the water column can reveal the detailed thermohaline structure3. Here we present a subsurface acoustic image, acquired in October 1998, that crosses the Sub-Antarctic Front in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the two water masses converge and shear past each other. We find that down to a depth of 2.5 km, the vertical boundary between the North Atlantic Deep Water and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is sharp and mass exchange is negligible. Below this depth, where cross-track velocities converge, we detect a prominent swirling structure that is 500 m high and 10 km wide. We analyse prestack acoustic records, which suggest that this structure rotates at an average speed of 0.3±0.1 m s−1 about a horizontal axis. We suggest that the structure could either be a thermohaline intrusion created by frontal instability processes, or—more speculatively—a localized and intermittent overturning event.

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Figure 1: Map of southern Atlantic Ocean.
Figure 2: Seismic image of water masses in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Figure 3: Swirling structure at abyssal depths.
Figure 4: Idealized sketch of the southern Atlantic Ocean.

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Acknowledgements

K.L.S. was supported by the NERC UK and by Schlumberger Cambridge Research. Seismic acquisition was financially supported by the NERC. We thank P. Christie, A. Crosby, T. Hesse, K. Heywood, R. Jones, S. Jones, D. Koenitz, D. Lyness, A. Naveira Garabato, C. Richardson, S. Thorpe and C. Trowell for their help. S. Jones and R. Hardy discussed methods of velocity analysis with us. J. B. Sallée provided an incisive review. Department of Earth Sciences contribution number esc.2511.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Bullard Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rise, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OEZ, UK

    K. L. Sheen & N. J. White

  2. National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK

    K. L. Sheen

  3. BP Institute and Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK

    C. P. Caulfield

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

    R. W. Hobbs

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Contributions

This project was conceived by N.J.W. who acquired the seismic data. Processing and analysis was carried out by K.L.S. with guidance from N.J.W., C.P.C. and R.W.H. N.J.W. wrote the paper in conjunction with K.L.S. and C.P.C. K.L.S. and N.J.W. drew the figures.

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Correspondence to K. L. Sheen or N. J. White.

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Sheen, K., White, N., Caulfield, C. et al. Seismic imaging of a large horizontal vortex at abyssal depths beneath the Sub-Antarctic Front. Nature Geosci 5, 542–546 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1502

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