title: Submesoscale dispersion in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon spill.
abstract: Reliable forecasts for the dispersion of oceanic contamination are important for coastal ecosystems, society, and the economy as evidenced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the Fukushima nuclear plant incident in the Pacific Ocean in 2011. Accurate prediction of pollutant pathways and concentrations at the ocean surface requires understanding ocean dynamics over a broad range of spatial scales. Fundamental questions concerning the structure of the velocity field at the submesoscales (100 m to tens of kilometers, hours to days) remain unresolved due to a lack of synoptic measurements at these scales. Using high-frequency position data provided by the near-simultaneous release of hundreds of accurately tracked surface drifters, we study the structure of submesoscale surface velocity fluctuations in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Observed two-point statistics confirm the accuracy of classic turbulence scaling laws at 200-m to 50-km scales and clearly indicate that dispersion at the submesoscales is local, driven predominantly by energetic submesoscale fluctuations. The results demonstrate the feasibility and utility of deploying large clusters of drifting instruments to provide synoptic observations of spatial variability of the ocean surface velocity field. Our findings allow quantification of the submesoscale-driven dispersion missing in current operational circulation models and satellite altimeter-derived velocity fields.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Graduate Physics Program, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, New York, NY 10314;
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Poje
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176; tozgokmen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tamay M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Ozgökmen
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716;
authors.forename: Bruce L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lipphardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Haus
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Edward H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Angelique C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Haza
authors.affiliation: Ocean Dynamics and Prediction, Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, MS 39529; and.
authors.forename: Gregg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: A J H M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Reniers
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Maria Josefina
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Olascoaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Novelli
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Scienze Marine, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 19032 La Spezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Griffa
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Beron-Vera
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Shuyi S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Ocean Dynamics and Prediction, Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, MS 39529; and.
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: Ocean Dynamics and Prediction, Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, MS 39529; and.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716;
authors.forename: Albert D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kirwan
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716;
authors.forename: Helga S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Huntley
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33176;
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mariano
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D060851:Gulf of America; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009791:Oceanography / Q000379:methods*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D054712:Salinity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Lagrangian transport; geophysical turbulence; ocean dispersion; pollutant patterns