HR: 12:05h
AN: OS12B-08    [Abstracts]
TI: The Effects of Potential Vorticity on Flows Through a Gap
AU: * Whitehead, J A
EM: jwhitehead@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Department of Physical Oceanography, MS#21, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AB: Mathematical solutions for constant potential vorticity critically controlled flow through passages in the deep ocean are complicated and not available in simple form. Thus two simple formulas for volume flux are developed here by fitting them to constant potential vorticity numerical values. The simplest agrees to better than 6 % and one slightly more complicated formula agrees within 1.4 %. They are up to 24 % less than zero potential vorticity formulas which have been applied to ocean passages. The better formula is used to make new predictions of flux magnitude through nine ocean passages that have current meter measurements. The range of the revisions compared to zero potential vorticity predictions is a few percent. For further improvement between prediction and observation, other factors such as realistic bottom topography, friction, mixing, waves and eddies must be included.
DE: 4203 Analytical modeling
DE: 4508 Coriolis effects
DE: 4512 Currents
DE: 4532 General circulation
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting