Eddy energetics in the Faroe-Shetland channel: a model resolution study

Observations indicate that, perhaps as a result of intense shears produced by the topographic steering of the slope current and merging of the warm North Atlantic water with cold Nordic waters, the Faroe-Shetland Channel is a fertile ground for energetic eddies and meanders. How these meso-scale (∼ 10 km) features are resolved in a three-dimensional numerical model is studied here with grid-nesting, in which the convergence of the simulated energetics is examined as a function of grid sizes Δ =10, 10/3, 10/5 and 10/7 km. Large-scale forcing to the fine-grid nest consists of steady slope-current transport (2 Sv) and north/south climatological density difference only. The mean fields were found to converge at Δ = 10/3 km, but the eddy fields required Δ = 2 km or less. At the finest grids, meso-scale features more in conformity with those observed were found: meanders with amplitudes of O(10 km) and along-slope propagation speeds of about 0.14 m s- 1 cross-channel vacillation of the slope current, with amplitude of about 10 km and periods of 5–10 days, and vertical excursions of isotherms of O(100 m). The meanders were highly ageostrophic (ζ/f> 1, ζ=relative vorticity, f = Coriolis parameter), and developed as a result of conditions favorable to flow instability originated from south of the channel. When adequately resolved, the meander energetics are comparable to those produced by (large-scale) winds, which suggests that a high-resolution grid (Δ < 2 km) will be required for hindcast and forecast studies.