DINAMIKA OSEANOGRAFI

STTAL XXXIV
KULIAH 10
Dr. Anastasia Rita Tisiana Dwi Kuswardani
2014

Complete force balance with rotation

Three equations:

Inertialmotion
Geostrophicflow

Horizontal (x) (west-east)

acceleration + advection + Coriolis =
pressure gradient force + viscous term
Horizontal (y) (south-north)
acceleration + advection + Coriolis =
pressure gradient force + viscous term

Vertical (z) (down-up)

acceleration +advection (+ neglected very small Coriolis) =
pressure gradient force + effective gravity
(including centrifugal force) + viscous term

Example from atmosphere of nearly geostrophic flow

NWS daily weather map

High and low pressure centers

Winds blow around the highs and lows
Clockwise around the highs (northern hemisphere) due to
Coriolis

Geostrophy: PGF balanced by

Coriolis force

Northern
hemisphere:flow
totherightofthe
PGF

Other views
Lookingdownontothe
ocean
(Northernhemisphere
examplesforvelocity
directions)
Lookingatacross
section
Thinkofballrolling
downhillfromhighto
lowpressure,turningto
therightduetoCoriolis
DPOFig.7.9

Geostrophic (and hydrostatic) force

balance
Three (approximate) equations:
Horizontal (x) (west-east)
Coriolis = pressure gradient force ( minus krn
berlawanan arah rotasi)

- fv = - (1/)p/x

Horizontal (y) (south-north)

Coriolis = pressure gradient force

fu = - (1/)p/y
Vertical (z) (down-up)
0 = pressure gradient force + effective gravity

0 = - (1/)p/z - g

Definitions: Cyclonic and Anticyclonic

NWS daily weather map

Cyclonic:
aroundalow
pressure
center
Anticyclonic:
aroundahigh
pressurecenter
Cyclonicisclockwiseinthenorthernhemisphere,counterclockwisein
thesouthernhemisphere

Geostrophy
during Tropical Cyclone Lua (March 2011)

Example from ocean of geostrophic flow

Surface height/pressure and surface geostrophic
circulation

Circulation is
counterclockwise
around the Low
(cyclonic) and
clockwise around
the High
(anticyclonic).

LOW
LOW HIGH

LOW

LOW HIGH

LOW

(northern
hemisphere)

LOW

Southern Hem:
Cyclonic is
clockwise, etc..

Reid,1997

Altimetric surface height

(Topex/Poseidon

plus JGM-3 geoid)

High pressures: red to orange
Low pressures: green to blue

Compare with surface circulation (next slide)

Stewart
textbook

GulfStream

Surface (geostrophic) circulation

schematic

AntarcticCircumpolarCurrent

DPO Fig. 14.1 after Schmitz (1995)

Vertical structure of the circulation

(Atlantic section of potential density)
Low

Highpressure

AntarcticCircumpolarCurrent

DPOFig.4.10

To observe geostrophic circulation

Density (temperature, salinity) is what we measure for
the most part
Current speed and direction is what we want
We cant measure the sea surface height accurately
enough (this will change with improved observing
systems, but is historically the case)
Steady-state isopycnal slopes tell us that the geostrophic
current is varying with depth (vertically sheared)
Most currents we see are wind-driven and therefore
strongest at the sea surface, decaying with depth
We therefore make a very educated (or very uneducated
guess) at the current speed and direction at some depth,
and use the density field to figure out how the current
changes with depth AT THAT LOCATION in latitude and
longitude

Another example - Gulf Stream ----->>

Gulf Stream vertical sections in Florida Strait

(west on left) (ignore blobbiness of contouring)
160cm/sec

Roemmich,1983

Thermal wind (geostrophic method):

How does the geostrophic flow change
with depth (below the sea surface)? Neartheseasurface(ath1),thereis
Look at mass (density) distribution
moremassatBthanatA,sothereis
higherpressureatBthanatA,so
thereisawestwardPGFand
northwardflow(northern
hemisphere).

Fartherdown(ath2),thedifference
inmassaboveh2atBandAis
smallersincethedensityatBis
lowerthananA.SothePGFis
smallerandthecurrentisweaker.

DensityatAishigherthandensityatB
A>B

Evenfartherdown(ath3),wecan
haveequalmass(equalpressure,
henceNOPGF)sincetotalmassat
BandAistheSAME.

DPOFig.S7.20

Thermal wind
(geostrophic method):

slide 2

Nowassumethatdensityvaries
continuously.
Wemeasuredensity(REDlines).The
slopedowntotherightmeansthatflow
increasesintothepagewithheight
(decreaseswithdepth)
Weassume(ormeasure)thatvelocityis,
say,0atdepth3.Thereforethepressure
contourp3mustbeflatthere.
(Andbelowlevel3,theflowwouldstart
goingbacktheotherway,outofthe
page)

DPOFig.7.10

Dynamic height and geopotential anomaly:

proxies for pressure
The pgf is calculated as the difference of pressure between two
stations at a given depth (flat surface relative to the geoid).
a) If the velocity is known at a given depth, then the pgf at that
depth is also known (from geostrophy)
b) From the measured density profiles at the two stations, we can
calculate how the pgf changes with depth, which tells us the
velocity change with depth.
c) Using the known velocity from (a), which we call the reference
velocity, and knowing how velocity changes with depth from (b),
we can compute velocity at every depth.

Geopotential anomaly and dynamic height

To get the change in pgf from depth 1 to 2, get the mass of water
on both profiles between depths 1 and 2. Historically use the
specific volume anomaly , which is = - (35, 0, p) where
= 1/ is specific volume. Then choose/measure/guess the
reference velocity at, say, depth 1 and compute velocity at depth 2
= - dp geopotential anomaly
f (v2 - v1) = - /x
(8.26a)
f (u2 - u1) = /y
(8.26b)
OR
D = - / 10= - dp /10 dynamic height
1 dyn m = 10 m2/sec2
f (v2 - v1) = 10 D/x
(8.26a)
f (u2 - u1) = - 10 D/y
(8.26b)

Geopotential anomaly and dynamic height

Reference velocities:
Old-fashioned - assume 0 velocity at some great depth
(what is usually called the level of no motion), and
compute velocities at all shallower depths. This is useful
if you are focused on very energetic upper ocean flows,
but not useful if you want to look at small deep flows.
Better - observe or determine through external means
(use of tracers, mass balance, etc) a good guess at the
velocity at some depth (what I call the level of known
motion). This is essential if you want to study deep
circulation.

Geostrophic Currents from Satellite Altimetri

Surface geostrophic current:

If geoid is known, surface geostrophi current can be measured

by satellite altimeters (Topec Poseidon atau Jason altimeter
systems):

Geostrophic Currents
The geostrophic equations are widely used in oceanography to
calculate currents at depth. The geopotential is:

Determine Geostrophic current from CTD Data

Stewart, 2008

Determine Geostrphic current from

CTD Data

Geostrophic Currents

Need a reference
'depth of no motion' or
Current meter mooring

South Java

Southern Bali

%dep(m),tem_061(degC),saly_061(psu),tem_081(degC),saly_081(psu),vg(m/s
),tra(Sv)
0
29.091 35.297
28.999
34.593
-0.075
-2.55
25 28.538 34.644
28.907
34.706
-0.053
-2.36
50 26.243 34.681
26.398
34.567
-0.045
-2.22
75 24.764 34.784
24.929
34.871
-0.041
-2.1
100 22.722 34.788
22.749
34.815
-0.042
-1.98
125 19.197 34.75
19.605
34.594
-0.034
-1.88
150 16.613 34.642
16.821
34.686
-0.025
-1.79
175 15.476 34.745
14.536
34.654
-0.03
-1.72
200 13.584 34.653
13.455
34.682
-0.037
-1.62
225 12.986 34.641
12.444
34.624
-0.042
-1.51
250 11.825 34.553
12.009
34.639
-0.047
-1.39
275 11.016 34.609
11.387
34.607
-0.045
-1.26
300 10.682 34.617
10.765
34.581
-0.041
-1.13
325 10.284 34.649
10.573
34.643
-0.037
-1.02
350 10.036 34.656
10.23
34.673
-0.034
-0.92
:
:
:
650 7.351 34.636
7.428
34.612
-0.008
-0.11
675 7.289 34.636
7.261
34.587
-0.006
-0.09
700 7.078 34.609
6.774
34.528
-0.004
-0.07
725 6.763 34.551
6.655
34.555
-0.004
-0.06
750 6.392 34.534
6.545
34.557
0
-0.004
775 6.334 34.544
6.33
34.543
0
-0.004
800 6.004 34.525
6.22
34.545
0
-0.004
825 5.92
34.519
6.002
34.529
0
-0.003
850 5.708 34.514
5.798
34.513
0
-0.003
875 5.57
34.52
5.608
34.492
0
-0.001
900 5.318 34.489
5.41
34.491
0
0

Currents From Hydrographic

Sections

Slopes of the sea surface and the slope of the

interface between two homogeneous, moving
layers, with density 1 and 2 in the northern
hemisphere

Gulf Stream density, dynamic height and

geostrophic velocity

DPOFig.
7.11

Sea surface height in the Pacific. (Using Niiler et al., 2003, surface
heights based on drifters)

DPOFig.S10.1

Sea surface height in the Indian. (Using Niiler et al., 2003, surface
heights based on drifters)

DPOFig.S11.1