Abstract
Abstract Temperture and salinity (T–S) finestructure on vertical scales of 10 db and larger is examined in a 500 by 500 km grid located southeast of the Azores in the North Atlantic. The convergence of several water masses dominated by the Mediterranean Water (MW) at mid-depth (1000 m) leads to variety of T–S finestructure which is unstable to double diffusive processes. By forming histograms of the density ratio Rρ, a fundamental parameter in controlling double diffusive processes, it is found that 71% of the volume is unstable to salt fingering while only 5% is unstable to diffusive layering, the other double diffusive instability. In about 24% of the volume, Rρ is less than 2 in the salt fingering sense and at these low values salt fingers grow rapidly. This suggests that salt fingering may be an important diapycnal mixing process in much of the region. Two primary salt fingering regions are found: a near-surface region from about 100 to 500 db with a modal Rρ of 2.0 and a deeper region from about 1000...
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.