sofronts: Southern ocean climatologic fronts

In SESman/rbl: Biologging tools for diving predators in R

Description

This dataset contains the coordinates of the the major front of the southern ocean: SACCF (Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front), PF (Polar Front), SAF (Sub-Antarctic Front), SSTF (Southern Sub Tropical Front) and NSTF.

Usage

data(sofronts)

Format

A data frame of 9212 rows and 3 variables.

Details

The SSTF position is defined by the intersection between the 11 deg. C isotherm and the 150 m isobath. It represents the limits between the northern warm and salty waters (Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans) and the colder and less salty water from the sub-antarctic area. It is considered as the northern limit of the antarctic circumpolar current (but not of the Southern Ocean which has as been arbitrarily defined to the 40 deg. S

The SAF position is defined by the maximum meridian temperature gradient between 3 deg. and 8 deg. C at 300 m. It is associated with strong currents. Around Kerguelen it deviates to the north, thus reducing the extent of the sub-antarctic area and increasing that of the polar-frontal area.

The PF position is defined as the northern limit of the minimum subsurface temperature lower than 2 deg. C. It represents the lower trace of the winter-mixed layer, which the upper part warms up during summer. It is associated with strong currents.

The SACCF front is defined as the southern limit of the Antarctic circumpolar current. It represents the border between the antarctic (to the north) and continental (to the south) areas.

Content:

• Lon Longitude

• Lat Latitude

• name The front name.

References

Belkin, I.M. (1988) Main hydrological features of the Central South Pacific, in: Ecosystems of the Subantarctic Zone of the Pacific Ocean, edited by M.E. Vinogradov and M.V. Flint, Nauka, Moscow, 21 28 [Translated as "Pacific Subantarctic Ecosystems", pp.12-17, New Zealand Translation Centre Ltd., Wellington, 1996].

Belkin, I.M. (1993) Frontal structure of the South Atlantic, in: Pelagic Ecosystems of the Southern Ocean, edited by N.M. Voronina, pp. 40 53 (in Russian), Nauka, Moscow.

Belkin, I.M., and A.L. Gordon (1996) Southern Ocean fronts from the Greenwich meridian to Tasmania, J. Geophys. Res., 101(C2), 3675-3696.

Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith (1996) A Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Shoreline Database, J. Geophys. Res., 101(B4), 8741-8743.

See Also

front

SESman/rbl documentation built on May 9, 2019, 11:10 a.m.