Figure 1. A close-up view of a young jumbo eddy.
Figure 2. Estimate of the maximum swirl velocity in jumbo eddy #29
from repeated surveys.
OC4331-Mesoscale
Oceanography
Final Project Summary
Topic Area
LT Bee Ontime, USN
LCDR Step Lightly, USN
Major Findings
The phenomenon of jumbo eddies is a really large topic in mesoscale oceanography. It is so big it can be hard to get your arms around it. Studies that have attempted to do so have been likened to the classic blind man's description of an elephant. Jumbo eddies appear really big and round, although closer inspection reveals asymmetries and a spectrum of smaller scales. Of particular note are the snake-like filaments that originate near the head of most jumbo eddies.
Jumbo eddies are found in the Left-Right Sea, which is below the upper reaches of the deep ocean off Pangaea. Just getting to them is difficult. Specially equipped research vessels have been used to sail through the shallow passages of the Left-Right Sea in search of the telltale high-salinity signature of jumbo eddies. Once detected, expendable bathythermograph sections are conducted in rapid succession to collect data relevant to the life history of the jumbo eddy. Most of these features have been observed to live for extremely long periods up to several years.
The most important aspects of jumbo eddies include:
Figure 2. Estimate of the maximum swirl velocity in jumbo eddy #29
from repeated surveys.
Someone, A.B., P.Q. Knowsall, and I.J. Gridding, 1999: "An expedition to the Left-Right Sea in search of jumbo eddies." J. Geophys. Res., Vol. 33, 23-55.
Tolittle, R.U., and I.M. Toolate, 1999: "Repeated sections through a Left-Right jumbo eddy." J. Phys. Oceanogr., Vol. 78, 2289-2297.
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