Large Kelvin-Helmholtz Billow Trains Observed in the Kuroshio above a Seamount

Trains of large Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billows were observed within the Kuroshio core, off southeastern Taiwan, at ~230-m depth above a seamount in shipboard echo sounder, ADCP, and LADCP/CTD profiling, and moored ADCP measurements. The large KH billow trains were present in a strong shear band along 0.55 ms^-1 isotach within the Kuroshio core as a result of the Kuroshio current interacting with the rapid changing topography. Each individual billow, resembling a cats’ eye, had a horizontal length scale of 200 m and a vertical amplitude scale of 100 m, and a propagation timescale of 7 minutes, near local buoyancy period. Overturns were frequently observed in both the billow core and the upper eyelid. The shear instability criterion (Ri < 0.25) was reached in the billow core. The dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy in the core and in the eyelid is comparable at an average value of O(10^-4) WKg^-1 and a maximum value of O(10^-3) WKg^-1. The KH billows derive energy from the Kuroshio kinetic energy. The corresponding turbulence mixing allows the water mass exchange between the Kuroshio and the surrounding water. These small-scale processes play an important role in the energy and water mass budgets within the Kuroshio.