Richardson Number Profiles over the Continental Shelf

Abstract

The seasonal mid-water thermocline over the continental shelf has been examined with the aid of an oceanographic Richardson Number Probe. The overall Richardson number of this stable layer was found to be 0.9 but within the thermocline, regions of low gradient Richardson number were observed. The shape of the conditionally averaged density profile was compared with laboratory experiments and used to aid speculation on the direction of entrainment during this experiment. The low value of the gradient Richardson number in the upper portions of the thermocline supported the interpretation of entrainment from above.