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contributor authorWilliams, Richard G.
contributor authorMarshall, John C.
contributor authorSpall, Michael A.
date accessioned2017-06-09T14:51:52Z
date available2017-06-09T14:51:52Z
date copyright1995/12/01
date issued1995
identifier issn0022-3670
identifier otherams-28447.pdf
identifier urihttp://onlinelibrary.yabesh.ir/handle/yetl/4165564
description abstractStommel argued that the seasonal cycle leads to a bias in the coupling between the surface mixed layer and the main thermocline of the ocean. He suggested that a ?demon? operated that effectively only allowed fluid at the end of winter to pass from the mixed layer into the main thermocline. In this study, Stommel's hypothesis is examined using diagnostics from a time-dependent coupled mixed layer-primitive equation model of the North Atlantic (CME). The influence of the seasonal cycle on the properties of the main thermocline is investigated using two methods. In the first, the rate and timing of subduction into the main thermocline is diagnosed using kinematic methods from the 1° resolution CME fields. In the second, tracer diagnostics of the CME and idealized experiments using a ?date? tracer identifying the timing of subduction are performed. Over the subtropical gyre, both approaches generally support Stommel's hypothesis that fluid is only transferred from the mixed layer into the main thermocline over a short period, ?1 month, in late winter/early spring. Tracer date experiments are also conducted using the eddy-resolving ?° CME fields. Eddy stirring is found to enhance the rate at which the tracer spreads into unventilated regions, but does not alter the seasonal bias of the Stommel demon mechanism.
publisherAmerican Meteorological Society
titleDoes Stommel's Mixed Layer “Demon” Work?
typeJournal Paper
journal volume25
journal issue12
journal titleJournal of Physical Oceanography
identifier doi10.1175/1520-0485(1995)025<3089:DSMLW>2.0.CO;2
journal fristpage3089
journal lastpage3102
treeJournal of Physical Oceanography:;1995:;Volume( 025 ):;issue: 012
contenttypeFulltext


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