Asymmetric Particle Aggregation in Ocean Eddies Driven by Eddy-Wind Interactions

Ni, Qinbiao, Zhai, Xiaoming and Chen, Dake (2026) Asymmetric Particle Aggregation in Ocean Eddies Driven by Eddy-Wind Interactions. Geophysical Research Letters, 53 (20). ISSN 0094-8276

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Abstract

Mesoscale eddies, prevalent across the global ocean, play a crucial role in the transport and mixing of climate-sensitive tracers such as heat, salt, and nutrients. While traditional quasi-geostrophic theory predicts symmetric kinematics and equivalent material transport by cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, our analysis of satellite altimeter and surface drifter data shows a significant asymmetry in drifter distribution inside ocean eddies. We find that globally cyclonic eddies capture about 12.5% more drifters than their anticyclonic counterparts, particularly near eddy centers. Numerical experiments reveal that this asymmetry results from eddy-wind interactions, which induce anomalous convergence in cyclonic eddies and divergence in anticyclonic eddies, enhancing particle aggregation in cyclones. These findings provide new insights into the distribution of ocean surface buoyant materials, including oil spills, plastics, and other pollutants.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data Availability Statement: All the data used in this study are publicly available. The satellite altimeter data are available at https://data.marine.copernicus.eu/product/SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_MY_008_047/description (E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information, 2023). The drifter trajectory data are available at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/gdp/interpolated/data/all.php (Lumpkin & Centurioni, 2019). The MERRA-2 wind data are available at https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/M2I1NXINT_5.12.4/summary. The ERA5 wind data are available at https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/datasets/reanalysis-era5-pressure-levels (Hersbach et al., 2023). The Argo float data are available at https://www.argo.org.cn/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=101.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	das in place,index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=101.,2026 ,/dt/atira/pure/keyword/DAStatement/das_in_place
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2026 15:43
Last Modified:	02 Nov 2026 12:27
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104735
DOI:	issn:0094-8276

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