Effects of Bottom Topography on Ocean General Circulation

The long-range objective of the P.I. is to understand the motion of deep waters throughout the abyssal basins of the world ocean, both along the boundaries and over the abyssal plains. The zeroth-order theory of the spread of the deep water was presented in a classical paper by Stommel and Arons 1960, which assumed uniform upwelling of the bottom water above a flat-bottomed ocean. However, the real ocean floor displays rich variations in topography from isolated seamounts to the global system of mid-ocean ridges. These topographic features guide and sometimes prevent the movement of deep waters, thereby controlling the general circulation. Also, superimposed on the large-scale, thermohaline upwelling circulation are the local wind-driven circulation which can penetrate to the ocean bottom in such regions as the recirculation gyres of the mid-latitudes and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current region. The aim of this project was to understand the effect of bottom topography on the abyssal circulation of the world ocean from a theoretical angle. Analytical, simple numerical and laboratory models were employed for this purpose.