Direct observations of the ACC transport across the Kerguelen Plateau

Young-Hyang Park (1) , Frédéric Vivier (1) , Fabien Roquet (1) , Élodie Kestenare (2)

1 LOCEAN - Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques
2 OLVAC - Océan du Large et Variabilité Climatique

Major pathways and transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) crossing the Kerguelen Plateau were directly observed during the 2009 Track cruise. The net eastward transport to the south of the Heard/McDonald Islands is estimated as 56 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s^-1), 43 Sv of which is tightly channelled into the Fawn Trough that appears as a predominant cross-plateau gateway of circumpolar flow associated with the Southern ACC Front (SACCF). There are also two secondary passages, with one (6 Sv) being attached to the nearshore slope just south of the Heard/McDonald Islands and the other (7 Sv) passing through the northern Princess Elizabeth Trough. With an additional 2 Sv inferred just south of the Kerguelen Islands, the transport across the entire plateau amounts to 58 Sv, accounting for ~40% of the total ACC transport transiting through the region, 147-152 Sv, quantities consistent with other independent estimates in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.

Domaines: Océanographie; Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]

Young-Hyang Park, Frédéric Vivier, Fabien Roquet, Élodie Kestenare. Direct observations of the ACC transport across the Kerguelen Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters, 2009, 36, pp.L18603. ⟨10.1029/2009GL039617⟩. ⟨hal-00425140⟩