2021-10-21 11:20:28.0 [tstevens] insert Definition (id: null text: Submesoscale eddies can efficiently transport heat and salt in the upper ocean (Wang et al., 2018) and play an important role in the balance of energy generation and dissipation of larger scale oceanic processes (Munk et al., 2000; Zatsepin et al., 2019). However, compared to mesoscale eddies, they remain poorly studied due to technical difficulties in observing these small-scale and ephemeral ocean features. Satellite altimeters typically cannot characterize eddies smaller than 100–200 km in diameter. In subtropical and tropical oceans sea surface temperature imagery lose their spatial contrast during summer, and satellite ocean color imagery also suffer to lack of sufficient observations due to clouds, strong sun glint, and stray light (Chen et al., 2019; Hu, 2011). As a result, to date, there is generally a lack of synoptic and long-term characterization of submesoscale eddies in the world's oceans, except perhaps in some small regions when continuous land-based high frequency-radar observations are available. language code: en);
SUBMESOCALE EDDIES
Submesoscale eddies can efficiently transport heat and salt in the upper ocean (Wang et al., 2018) and play an important role in the balance of energy generation and dissipation of larger scale oceanic processes (Munk et al., 2000; Zatsepin et al., 2019). However, compared to mesoscale eddies, they remain poorly studied due to technical difficulties in observing these small-scale and ephemeral ocean features. Satellite altimeters typically cannot characterize eddies smaller than 100–200 km in diameter. In subtropical and tropical oceans sea surface temperature imagery lose their spatial contrast during summer, and satellite ocean color imagery also suffer to lack of sufficient observations due to clouds, strong sun glint, and stray light (Chen et al., 2019; Hu, 2011). As a result, to date, there is generally a lack of synoptic and long-term characterization of submesoscale eddies in the world's oceans, except perhaps in some small regions when continuous land-based high frequency-radar observations are available.
EDDIES