Unraveling Southern Ocean dynamics: Insights into Antarctic gyre circulation and slope current through direct numerical simulations

The Southern Ocean holds a distinctive and pivotal position globally, connecting major ocean basins via its intricate circulation network. This makes it a central hub of oceanic transport. Despite numerous studies, the precise mechanisms governing the local and regional dynamics influencing the rapid poleward heat transport and Antarctic ice melting, aided by the Southern Ocean, remains elusive. Thus, to enhance our comprehension of the role of important regional-scale circulation dynamics like the Weddell, Ross and Kerguelen gyre circulations, high-fidelity direct numerical simulations employing simplified Antarctic geographical features were performed. These simulations were solely forced by the latitudinally varying sea surface temperature. The results obtained were found to closely mirror the real-world system, showcasing phenomena such as the Antarctic circumpolar current, slope current, bottom water formation and polar gyres, even without accounting for the wind forcing. This approach extends solutions from the small turbulence scales to larger planetary processes through down-scaling by employing principles of dynamic similarity, producing energy-conserving flow models. While limited by the absence of salinity and wind forcings, the study demonstrated the viability of direct numerical simulations in comprehending Southern Ocean dynamics, including polar gyres and slope currents. This groundwork lays the foundation for integrating further complexities to fine-tune the system for a more accurate analysis of the Southern Ocean’s physical dynamics - an endeavor of significant importance in a dynamically changing climate landscape.