This
is a work in progress ...
This
is a work in progress ...
For an example of a summer project completed by Zhe Fang, see this web page for a description of using Matlab to analyse ocean data.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is largest current in the ocean, carrying 130 Sverdrups. (1 Sverdrup = 1 million cubic metres per second = 1 million tons per second, roughly the flow of all the rivers in the world combined!) It circulates around Antarctica, completing the loop in a period of roughly 8 years. It is driven by the strong winds that blow above it, the "roaring forties" which are the strongest winds in the world. The current connects the world's major ocean basin and is thus a vital component of the ocean circulation.
An equally key aspect of the ACC is that it isolates Antarctic region from the transport associated with geostrophic flow-so there is no large current transporting heat to Antarctica the way the Gulf Stream transports heat to Northern Europe. As well, as a result of the rotation of the earth, the winds drive a northward flow A important question is how quantities (heat, salt, dissolved gases etc.) are transported across it. The research I did at MIT on the role of ocean eddies suggested that the eddies play an essential role in establishing a poleward transport