Reviews of Geophysics
A region of transition of surface water characteristics from subantarctic to Antarctic and an associated eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) have long been recognized to exist as a band around Antarctica. In this review we summarize the most important observational and theoretical findings of the past decade regarding the ACC, identify gaps in our knowledge, and recommend studies to address these. The nature of the meridional zonation of the ACC is only now being revealed. The ACC seems to exist as multiple narrow jets imbedded in, or associated with, density fronts (the Subantarctic and Polar fronts) which appear to be circumpolar in extent. These fronts meander, and current rings form from them; lateral frontal shifts of as much as 100km in 10 days have been observed. The volume transport of the ACC has been estimated many times with disparate results.
Original Publication Citation
Nowlin, W.D., & Klinck, J.M. (1986). The physics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Reviews of Geophysics, 24(3), 469-491.
Nowlin, Worth D. and Klinck, John M., "The Physics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current" (1986). CCPO Publications. 90.