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Fluxes of Properties through a Series of Double-Diffusive Interfaces with a Nonlinear Equation of State
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Foster and Carmack (1976) and Middleton and Foster (1980) have observed a series of ?diffusive? double-diffusive interfaces in the deep, central Weddell Sea which are very close to the conditions under which cabbeling is ...
The Influence of Ocean Mixing on the Absolute Velocity Vector
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: The potential vorticity equation has been vertically differentiated and used with the thermal wind equation to obtain the following expression for the absolute horizontal Eulerian velocity vector, where where ?z is the ...
The Vertical Motion of Submesoscale Coherent Vortices across Neutral Surfaces
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Submesoscale coherent vortices (SCVs, ?meddies? or ?bullets?) are shown not to move along either potential density surfaces or neutral surfaces, due to the compressibility of sea water being a function of potential temperature ...
Neutral Surfaces
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Scalar properties in the ocean are stirred (and subsequently mixed) rather efficiently by mesoscale eddies and two-dimensional turbulence along ?neutral surfaces?, defined such that when water parcels are moved small ...
Potential Enthalpy: A Conservative Oceanic Variable for Evaluating Heat Content and Heat Fluxes
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Potential temperature is used in oceanography as though it is a conservative variable like salinity; however, turbulent mixing processes conserve enthalpy and usually destroy potential temperature. This negative production ...
The Relative Roles of Diapycnal and Isopycnal Mixing on Subsurface Water Mass Conversion
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Fluid motion in the sea is known to occur predominantly along quasi-horizontal neutral surfaces but the very small diapycnal (i.e., across isopycnal) velocities often make a significant contribution to the conversation ...
Double-Diffusive Interleaving. Part I: Linear Stability Analysis
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: Quasi-horizontal interleaving between water masses is frequently observed in the frontal regions between different water masses where there are significant compensating isopycnal gradients of temperature and salinity. It ...
Double-Diffusive Interleaving. Part II: Finite Amplitude, Steady State Interleaving
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: The exponentially growing solutions of the linear stability analysis of double-diffusive interleaving are allowed to grow to finite amplitude. At this stage the double-diffusive fluxes across the intrusion boundaries must ...
Quantifying the Consequences of the Ill-Defined Nature of Neutral Surfaces
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: In the absence of diapycnal mixing processes, fluid parcels move in directions along which they do not encounter buoyant forces. These directions define the local neutral tangent plane. Because of the nonlinear nature of ...
Quantifying the Nonconservative Production of Conservative Temperature, Potential Temperature, and Entropy
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: he evolution equation of potential temperature has to date been treated as an approximation to the oceanic version of the first law of thermodynamics. That is, oceanographers have regarded the advection and diffusion of ...