The proposed research will address the interaction of eddies and vortices with abrupt topographic features. The issues to be dealt are (1) the interaction of a seamount chain and meddies, (2) the interaction of a mean flow and a seamount chain, and (3) vortex and ring interaction with continental shelves and slopes. The principal tools will be analytical and numerical process models. The work is important because the result of the studies will impact areas such as the formation and maintenance of the Mediterranean salt tongue and the penetration of energy from the open ocean onto the shelf.
