Mesoscale eddies in the western mediterranean sea: characterization and understanding from satellite observations and model simulations

dc.contributor
Universitat de les Illes Balears. Departament de Física
dc.contributor.author
Escudier, Romain
dc.date.accessioned
2015-09-29T11:28:37Z
dc.date.available
2015-09-29T11:28:37Z
dc.date.issued
2015-01-21
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10803/310417
dc.description.abstract
Mesoscale eddies are relatively small structures that dominate the ocean variability and have large impact on large scale circulation, heat fluxes and biological processes.In the western Mediterranean Sea, a high number of eddies has been observed and studied in the past with in-situ observations. Yet, a systematic characterization of these eddies is still lacking due to the small scales involved in these processes in this region where the Rossby deformation radius that characterizes the horizontal scales of the eddies is small (10-15 km). The objective of this thesis is to perform a characterization of mesoscale eddies in the western Mediterranean. For this purpose, we propose to develop tools to study the fine scales of the basin. First, we develop an eddy resolving simulation of the region for the last 20 years. This simulation shows that existing altimetry maps underestimate the mesoscale signal. Therefore, we attempt to improve existing satellite altimetry products to better resolve mesoscale eddies. We show that this improvement is possible but at the cost of the homogeneity of the fields; the resolution can only be improved at times and locations where altimetric observations are densely distributed. In a second part, we apply three different eddy detection and tracking methods to extract eddy characteristics from the outputs of the high-resolution simulation, a coarser simulation and altimetry maps. The results allow the determination of some characteristics of the detected eddies. The size of the eddies can greatly vary but is around 25-30 km. About 30 eddies are detected per day in the region with a very heterogeneous spatial distribution. Unlike other areas of the open ocean, they are mainly advected by currents of the region. Eddies can be separated according to their lifespan. Long-lived eddies are larger in amplitude and scale and have a seasonal cycle with a peak in late summer, while short-lived eddies are smaller and more present in winter. The penetration depth of detected eddies has also a large variance but the mean depth is around 300 meters. Anticyclones extend deeper in the water column and have a more conic shape than cyclones.
eng
dc.format.extent
288 p.
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Universitat de les Illes Balears
dc.rights.license
ADVERTIMENT. L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi doctoral i la seva utilització ha de respectar els drets de la persona autora. Pot ser utilitzada per a consulta o estudi personal, així com en activitats o materials d'investigació i docència en els termes establerts a l'art. 32 del Text Refós de la Llei de Propietat Intel·lectual (RDL 1/1996). Per altres utilitzacions es requereix l'autorització prèvia i expressa de la persona autora. En qualsevol cas, en la utilització dels seus continguts caldrà indicar de forma clara el nom i cognoms de la persona autora i el títol de la tesi doctoral. No s'autoritza la seva reproducció o altres formes d'explotació efectuades amb finalitats de lucre ni la seva comunicació pública des d'un lloc aliè al servei TDX. Tampoc s'autoritza la presentació del seu contingut en una finestra o marc aliè a TDX (framing). Aquesta reserva de drets afecta tant als continguts de la tesi com als seus resums i índexs.
dc.source
TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa)
dc.subject
Mediterranean Sea; Mesoscale eddies; Altimetry; Sea Surface Height; Numerical modelling; Automated Eddy detection
dc.subject.other
Física
dc.title
Mesoscale eddies in the western mediterranean sea: characterization and understanding from satellite observations and model simulations
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.subject.udc
53
cat
dc.contributor.authoremail
r.escudier@gmail.com
dc.contributor.director
Pascual Ascaso, Ananda
dc.contributor.director
Brasseur, Pierre
dc.contributor.tutor
Gomis, Damià, ponent
dc.embargo.terms
cap
dc.rights.accessLevel
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess


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