Oceanic fronts: A summary of a Chapman Conference

Abstract

Oceanic fronts occur at the boundaries between water masses with one or more differing properties, such as temperature, salinity, density, color (turbidity), nutrients, and velocity. Atmospheric fronts are common to mankind's experience; their oceanic analogs are similar but less familiar. The most familiar oceanic fronts exist at the sea surface, but fronts also exist at all depths within the ocean. Fronts are ubiquitous and occur on virtually all space and time scales.