Drake Passage

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Drake Passage showing the boundary points A, B, C, D, E and F accorded by the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina Drake passage en.png
Drake Passage showing the boundary points A, B, C, D, E and F accorded by the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina
Tourist expedition ship sailing across the Drake Passage to Antarctica DrakeP1.JPG
Tourist expedition ship sailing across the Drake Passage to Antarctica
Depth profile with salinity and temperature for surface Drake-Passage profile hg.png
Depth profile with salinity and temperature for surface

The Drake Passage is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile, Argentina, and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the Southern Ocean. The passage is named after the 16th-century English explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake.

Contents

The Drake Passage is considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which runs through it, meets no resistance from any landmass, and waves top 40 feet (12 m), giving it a reputation for being "the most powerful convergence of seas". [1]

As the Drake Passage is the narrowest passage (choke point) around Antarctica, its existence and shape strongly influence the circulation of water around Antarctica and the global oceanic circulation, as well as the global climate. The bathymetry of the Drake Passage plays an important role in the global mixing of oceanic water.

History

In 1525, Spanish navigator Francisco de Hoces discovered the Drake Passage while sailing south from the entrance of the Strait of Magellan. [2] Because of this, the Drake Passage is referred to as the "Mar de Hoces (Sea of Hoces)" in Spanish maps and sources, while almost always in the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries it is mostly known as “Pasaje de Drake” (Argentina, mainly), “Paso Drake” or to a lesser extent: “Mar de Drake” (both in Chile, mainly).

The passage received its English name from Sir Francis Drake during his raiding expedition. After passing in 1578 through the Strait of Magellan with Marigold, Elizabeth, and his flagship Golden Hind , Drake entered the Pacific Ocean and was blown far south in a tempest. Marigold was lost and Elizabeth abandoned the fleet. Only Drake's Golden Hind entered the passage. [3] This incident demonstrated to the English that there was open water south of South America. [4]

In 1616, Dutch navigator Willem Schouten became the first to sail around Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage. [5]

On December 25, 2019, a crew of six explorers successfully rowed across the passage, becoming the first in history to do so. [6] This accomplishment became the subject of a 2020 documentary, The Impossible Row . [7]

Geography

The Drake Passage opened when Antarctica separated from South America due to plate tectonics, however, there is much debate about when this occurred, with estimates ranging from 49 to 17 million years ago (Ma). [8] [9]

The opening had a major effect on the global oceans due to deep currents like the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This opening could have been a primary cause of changes in global circulation and climate, as well as the rapid expansion of Antarctic ice sheets, because, as Antarctica was encircled by ocean currents, it was cut off from receiving heat from warmer regions. [10]

The 800-kilometre-wide (500 mi) passage between Cape Horn and Livingston Island is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to another landmass. The boundary between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is sometimes taken to be a line drawn from Cape Horn to Snow Island (130 kilometres (81 mi) north of mainland Antarctica), though the International Hydrographic Organization defines it as the meridian that passes through Cape Horn: 67° 16′ W. [11] Both lines lie within the Drake Passage.

The other two passages around the southern extremity of South America — the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel — have frequent narrows, leaving little maneuvering room for a ship, as well as unpredictable winds and tidal currents. Most sailing ships thus prefer the Drake Passage, which is open water for hundreds of miles.

No significant land sits at the latitudes of the Drake Passage. This is important to the unimpeded eastward flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which carries a huge volume of water through the passage and around Antarctica.

The passage hosts whales, dolphins, and seabirds including giant petrels, other petrels, albatrosses, and penguins.

Importance in physical oceanography

The Drake Passage (middle of image) in relation to the global thermohaline circulation (animation) Thermohaline circulation.svg
The Drake Passage (middle of image) in relation to the global thermohaline circulation (animation)

The presence of the Drake Passageway allows the three main ocean basins (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian) to be connected via the Antarctic Circumpolar current (ACC), the strongest oceanic current, with an estimated transport of 100–150 Sv (Sverdrups, million m3/s). This flow is the only large-scale exchange occurring between the global oceans, and the Drake passage is the narrowest passage on its flow around Antarctica. As such, a significant amount of research has been done in understanding how the shape of the Drake passage (bathymetry and width) affects the global climate.

Oceanic and climate interactions

Major features of the modern ocean’s temperature and salinity fields, including the overall thermal asymmetry between the hemispheres, the relative saltiness of deep water formed in the northern hemisphere, and the existence of a transequatorial conveyor circulation, develop after Drake Passage is opened. [12]

The plot shows an yearly average (2020) of the surface current strength (from GODAS dataset), together with streamlines. Following the streamlines, it is easy to see that the current is not closed in itself but interacts with the other ocean basins (connecting them). The Drake Passage plays a major role in this mechanism. Flow from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the other ocean basins.jpg
The plot shows an yearly average (2020) of the surface current strength (from GODAS dataset), together with streamlines. Following the streamlines, it is easy to see that the current is not closed in itself but interacts with the other ocean basins (connecting them). The Drake Passage plays a major role in this mechanism.

The importance of an open Drake Passage extends farther than the Southern Ocean latitudes. The Roaring Forties and the Furious Fifties blow around Antarctica and drive the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). As a result of Ekman Transport, water gets transported northward from the ACC (on the left-hand side while facing the stream direction). Using a Lagrangian approach, water parcels passing through the Drake Passage can be followed in their journey in the oceans. Around 23 Sv of water is transported from the Drake Passage to the equator, mainly in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. [13] This value is not far from the Gulf Stream transport in the Florida Strait (33 Sv [14] ), but is an order of magnitude lower than the transport of the ACC (100–150 Sv). Water transported from the Southern Ocean to the Northern Hemisphere contributes to the global mass balance and permits the meridional circulation across the oceans.

Several studies have linked the current shape of the Drake Passage to an effective Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Models have been run with different widths and depths of the Drake Passage, and consequent changes in the global oceanic circulation and temperature distribution have been analyzed: [12] [15] It appears that the "conveyor belt" of the global thermohaline circulation appears only in presence of an open Drake Passage, subject to wind forcing. [12] With a closed Drake Passage, there is no North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) cell, and no ACC. With a shallower Drake Passage, a weak ACC appears, but still no NADW cell. [15]

The Drake Passage influences the global surface temperature and Atlantic circulation. Experiments opening drake passage.jpg
The Drake Passage influences the global surface temperature and Atlantic circulation.

It has also been shown that present-day distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon can be obtained only with an open Drake Passage. [16]

Regarding the global surface temperature, an open (and sufficiently deep) Drake Passage cools the Southern Ocean and warms the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The isolation of Antarctica by the ACC (that can flow only with an open Drake Passage) is credited by many researchers with causing the glaciation of the continent and global cooling in the Eocene epoch.

Turbulence and mixing

Diapycnal mixing is the process by which different layers of a stratified fluid mix. It directly affects vertical gradients, thus it is of great importance to all gradient-driven types of transport and circulation (including thermohaline circulation). Mixing drives the global thermohaline circulation; without internal mixing, cooler water would never rise above warmer water, and there would be no density (buoyancy)-driven circulation. However, mixing in the interior of most of the ocean is thought to be ten times weaker than required to support the global circulation. [17] [18] [19] It has been hypothesised that the extra-mixing can be ascribed to breaking of internal waves (Lee waves). [20] When a stratified fluid reaches an internal obstacle, a wave is created that can eventually break, mixing the fluid's layers. It has been estimated that the diapycnal diffusivity in the Drake Passage is ~20 times the value immediately to the west in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). [18] Much of the energy that is dissipated through internal wave breaking (around 20% of the wind energy put into the ocean) is dissipated in the Southern Ocean. [21]

In short, without the coarse topography in the depths of the Drake Passage, oceanic internal mixing would be weaker, and the global circulation would be affected.

Density (buoyancy) drives an internal circulation only if the denser (colder or saltier) water mass lays above the less dense (warmer or less salty) one. In absence of any perturbation, the fluid assumes a stratified form. Neglecting salinity differences, the only possible drivers of such a circulation are vertical temperature differences. However, water gets heated and cooled at the same level, namely at the surface at the equator and at the surface at the poles. The force that pushes colder water above warmer water is internal mixing, which is more intense in presence of rough topography, such as in the Drake Passage. DensityDrivenCirculation.jpg
Density (buoyancy) drives an internal circulation only if the denser (colder or saltier) water mass lays above the less dense (warmer or less salty) one. In absence of any perturbation, the fluid assumes a stratified form. Neglecting salinity differences, the only possible drivers of such a circulation are vertical temperature differences. However, water gets heated and cooled at the same level, namely at the surface at the equator and at the surface at the poles. The force that pushes colder water above warmer water is internal mixing, which is more intense in presence of rough topography, such as in the Drake Passage.

Historical importance in oceanographic observations

Worldwide satellite measurements of oceanic properties have been available since the 1980s. Before then, data could be only gathered through oceanic ships taking direct measurements. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) has been (and is) surveyed making repeated transects. South America and the Antarctic Peninsula constrain the ACC in the Drake Passage; the convenience of measuring the ACC across the passage lays in the clear boundaries of the current in that stripe. Even after the advent of satellite altimetry data, direct observations in the Drake Passage have not lost their exceptionality. The relative shallowness and narrowness of the passage makes it particularly suitable to assess the validity of horizontally and vertically changing quantities (such as velocity in Ekman's theory [22] ).

In addition, the strength of the ACC makes meanders and pinching cold-core cyclonic rings easier to observe. [23]

Fauna

Wildlife in the Drake Passage includes the following species:

Birds

Cetaceans

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic Circumpolar Current</span> Ocean current that flows clockwise from west to east around Antarctica

Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows clockwise from west to east around Antarctica. An alternative name for the ACC is the West Wind Drift. The ACC is the dominant circulation feature of the Southern Ocean and has a mean transport estimated at 100–150 Sverdrups, or possibly even higher, making it the largest ocean current. The current is circumpolar due to the lack of any landmass connecting with Antarctica and this keeps warm ocean waters away from Antarctica, enabling that continent to maintain its huge ice sheet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oligocene</span> Third epoch of the Paleogene Period

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and καινός (kainós) 'new', and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Sea</span> Deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica

The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and Victoria Land, to the east Roosevelt Island and Edward VII Peninsula in Marie Byrd Land, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole. Its boundaries and area have been defined by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research as having an area of 637,000 square kilometres (246,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weddell Sea</span> Part of the Southern Ocean between Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is the King Haakon VII Sea. Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive ice shelf field, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean current</span> Directional mass flow of oceanic water

An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents move both horizontally, on scales that can span entire oceans, as well as vertically, with vertical currents playing an important role in the movement of nutrients and gases, such as carbon dioxide, between the surface and the deep ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermohaline circulation</span> Part of large-scale ocean circulation

Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Wind-driven surface currents travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes. This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters upwell in the North Pacific. Extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the Earth's oceans a global system. The water in these circuits transport both energy and mass around the globe. As such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean gyre</span> Any large system of circulating ocean surface currents

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic bottom water</span> Cold, dense, water mass originating in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subantarctic</span> Term describing the parts of the three largest oceans nearest the Southern Ocean

The subantarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, especially those situated north of the Antarctic Convergence. Subantarctic glaciers are, by definition, located on islands within the subantarctic region. All glaciers located on the continent of Antarctica are by definition considered to be Antarctic glaciers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weddell Gyre</span> One of two gyres within the Southern Ocean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Gyre</span> Circulating system of ocean currents in the Ross Sea

The Ross Gyre is one of three gyres that exists within the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, the others being the Weddell Gyre and Balleny Gyre. The Ross Gyre is located north of the Ross Sea, and rotates clockwise. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The Ross Gyre is bounded by the Polar Front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the north, the Antarctic Slope Current to the south, the Balleny Gyre to the west, and a variable boundary to the east from semiannual changes in sea surface height (SSH) in the Amundsen Sea. Circulation in the Ross Gyre has been estimated to be 20 ± 5 Sverdrup (Sv) and plays a large role in heat exchange in this region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Ocean</span> Ocean around Antarctica

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Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is a cold, relatively low salinity water mass found mostly at intermediate depths in the Southern Ocean. The AAIW is formed at the ocean surface in the Antarctic Convergence zone or more commonly called the Antarctic Polar Front zone. This convergence zone is normally located between 50°S and 60°S, hence this is where almost all of the AAIW is formed.

In oceanography, a front is a boundary between two distinct water masses. The formation of fronts depends on multiple physical processes and small differences in these lead to a wide range of front types. They can be as narrow as a few hundreds of metres and as wide as several tens of kilometres. While most fronts form and dissipate relatively quickly, some can persist for long periods of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumpolar deep water</span> Water mass in the Pacific and Indian oceans formed by mixing of other water masses in the region

Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) is a designation given to the water mass in the Pacific and Indian oceans that is a mixing of other water masses in the region. It is characteristically warmer and saltier than the surrounding water masses, causing CDW to contribute to the melting of ice shelves in the Antarctic region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agulhas Basin</span> Oceanic basin south of South Africa

The Agulhas Basin is an oceanic basin located south of South Africa where the South Atlantic Ocean and south-western Indian Ocean meet. Part of the African plate, it is bounded by the Agulhas Ridge to the north and the Southwest Indian Ridge to the south; by the Meteor Rise to the west and the Agulhas Plateau to the east. Numerous bathymetric anomalies hint at the basin's dynamic tectonic history.

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Sarah Gille is a physical oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography known for her research on the role of the Southern Ocean in the global climate system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Ocean overturning circulation</span> Southern half of the global ocean current system

Southern Ocean overturning circulation is the southern half of a global thermohaline circulation, which connects different water basins across the global ocean. Its better-known northern counterpart is the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). This circulation operates when certain currents send warm, oxygenated, nutrient-poor water into the deep ocean (downwelling), while the cold, oxygen-limited, nutrient-rich water travels upwards at specific points. Thermohaline circulation transports not only massive volumes of warm and cold water across the planet, but also dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon and other nutrients such as iron. Thus, both halves of the circulation have a great effect on Earth's energy budget and oceanic carbon cycle, and so play an essential role in the Earth's climate system.

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58°35′S65°54′W / 58.583°S 65.900°W / -58.583; -65.900