Polarity and direction dependence of energetic cross-frontal eddy transport in the Southern Ocean's Pacific sector

Wang, Huimin; Cheng, Lingqiao; Behrens, Erik; Chen, Zhuang; Devine, Jennifer; Zhu, Guoping

doi:10.5194/os-22-1085-2026

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1085-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1085-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

Research article

|

30 Mar 2026

Research article |

| 30 Mar 2026

Polarity and direction dependence of energetic cross-frontal eddy transport in the Southern Ocean's Pacific sector

Huimin Wang, Lingqiao Cheng, Erik Behrens, Zhuang Chen, Jennifer Devine, and Guoping Zhu

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1085-2026-supplement

Data sets

Global Ocean Gridded L4 Sea Surface Heights And Derived Variables Reprocessed 1993 Ongoing (SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_MY_008_047) Copernicus Marine Service https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00148

Altimetry-drived Antarctic Circumpolar Current fronts Park Young-Hyang and Durand Isabelle https://doi.org/10.17882/59800

Short summary

This study focused on the cross-frontal eddies (CFEs) in the Pacific sector. By analyzing 23 years of satellite and Argo float data, we found that the behaviors of these CFEs vary according to their polarity and direction. These powerful CFEs play a key role in transporting heat and nutrients meridionally, and helping to counteract the effects of strengthening winds and inhomogeneous warming.