The path of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) is mapped using satellite sea surface temperature data from the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder program. The mean path and variability of the PF are strongly influenced by bathymetry. Meandering intensity is weaker where the bathymetry is steeply sloped and increases in areas where the...
The location of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) was mapped over a 7-year period (1987-1993) within images of satellite-deprived sea surface temperature. The mean path of the PF is strongly steered by the topographic features of the Southern Ocean. The topography places vorticity constraints on the dynamics of the PF...
SeaWiFS estimates of surface chlorophyll concentrations are reported for the region of the U.S. JGOFS study in the Southern Ocean (∼ 170 °W, 60 °S). Elevated chlorophyll was observed at the Southern Ocean fronts, near the edge of the seasonal ice sheet, and above the Pacific Antarctic Ridge. The elevated...
Analysis of satellite ocean color, sea surface temperature, and sea ice cover data reveals consistent patterns between biological production, iron availability, and physical forcings in the Southern Ocean. The consistency of these patterns, in conjunction with information on physical conditions during the last glacial maximum (LGM), enables estimates of export...
THE ROLE OF THE OCEANS in Earth systems ecology, and the effects of climate variability on the ocean and its ecosystems, can be understood only by observing, describing, and ultimately predicting the state of the ocean as a physically forced ecological and biogeochemical system. This is a daunting but exciting...