Eddy characteristics in the South Indian Ocean as inferred from surface drifters

Abstract. Using a geometric eddy identification method, cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies from submesoscale to mesoscale in the South Indian Ocean (SIO) have been statistically investigated based on 2082 surface drifters from 1979 to 2013. A total of 19 252 eddies are identified, 60% of them anticyclonic eddies. For the submesoscale eddies (radius r<10 km), the ratio of cyclonic eddies (3183) to anticyclonic eddies (7182) is 1 to 2. In contrast, the number of anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies with radius r≥10 km is almost equal. Mesoscale and submesoscale eddies show different spatial distributions. Eddies with radius r≥100 km mainly appear in the Leeuwin Current, a band along 25° S, Mozambique Channel, and Agulhas Current, areas characterized by large eddy kinetic energy. The submesoscale anticyclonic eddies are densely distributed in the subtropical basin in the central SIO. The number of mesoscale eddies shows statistically significant seasonal variability, reaching a maximum in October and minimum in February.