Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions
A large number of water masses are presented in the Atlantic Ocean, and knowledge of their distributions and properties is important for understanding and monitoring of a range of oceanographic phenomena. The characteristics and distributions of water masses in biogeochemical space are useful for, i...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5842d62d528340fa9416833411bb4dff 2023-05-15T13:55:29+02:00 Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions M. Liu T. Tanhua 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-463-2021 https://doaj.org/article/5842d62d528340fa9416833411bb4dff EN eng Copernicus Publications https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/463/2021/os-17-463-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-17-463-2021 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/5842d62d528340fa9416833411bb4dff Ocean Science, Vol 17, Pp 463-486 (2021) Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-463-2021 2022-12-31T07:25:13Z A large number of water masses are presented in the Atlantic Ocean, and knowledge of their distributions and properties is important for understanding and monitoring of a range of oceanographic phenomena. The characteristics and distributions of water masses in biogeochemical space are useful for, in particular, chemical and biological oceanography to understand the origin and mixing history of water samples. Here, we define the characteristics of the major water masses in the Atlantic Ocean as source water types (SWTs) from their formation areas, and map out their distributions. The SWTs are described by six properties taken from the biased-adjusted Global Ocean Data Analysis Project version 2 (GLODAPv2) data product, including both conservative (conservative temperature and absolute salinity) and non-conservative (oxygen, silicate, phosphate and nitrate) properties. The distributions of these water masses are investigated with the use of the optimum multi-parameter (OMP) method and mapped out. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into four vertical layers by distinct neutral densities and four zonal layers to guide the identification and characterization. The water masses in the upper layer originate from wintertime subduction and are defined as central waters. Below the upper layer, the intermediate layer consists of three main water masses: Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), Subarctic Intermediate Water (SAIW) and Mediterranean Water (MW). The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW, divided into its upper and lower components) is the dominating water mass in the deep and overflow layer. The origin of both the upper and lower NADW is the Labrador Sea Water (LSW), the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW). The Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the only natural water mass in the bottom layer, and this water mass is redefined as Northeast Atlantic Bottom Water (NEABW) in the north of the Equator due to the change of key properties, especially silicate. Similar with NADW, two ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Denmark Strait Iceland Labrador Sea NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Northeast Atlantic Subarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic Ocean Science 17 2 463 486 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 M. Liu T. Tanhua Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
topic_facet |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
A large number of water masses are presented in the Atlantic Ocean, and knowledge of their distributions and properties is important for understanding and monitoring of a range of oceanographic phenomena. The characteristics and distributions of water masses in biogeochemical space are useful for, in particular, chemical and biological oceanography to understand the origin and mixing history of water samples. Here, we define the characteristics of the major water masses in the Atlantic Ocean as source water types (SWTs) from their formation areas, and map out their distributions. The SWTs are described by six properties taken from the biased-adjusted Global Ocean Data Analysis Project version 2 (GLODAPv2) data product, including both conservative (conservative temperature and absolute salinity) and non-conservative (oxygen, silicate, phosphate and nitrate) properties. The distributions of these water masses are investigated with the use of the optimum multi-parameter (OMP) method and mapped out. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into four vertical layers by distinct neutral densities and four zonal layers to guide the identification and characterization. The water masses in the upper layer originate from wintertime subduction and are defined as central waters. Below the upper layer, the intermediate layer consists of three main water masses: Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), Subarctic Intermediate Water (SAIW) and Mediterranean Water (MW). The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW, divided into its upper and lower components) is the dominating water mass in the deep and overflow layer. The origin of both the upper and lower NADW is the Labrador Sea Water (LSW), the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW). The Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the only natural water mass in the bottom layer, and this water mass is redefined as Northeast Atlantic Bottom Water (NEABW) in the north of the Equator due to the change of key properties, especially silicate. Similar with NADW, two ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Liu T. Tanhua |
author_facet |
M. Liu T. Tanhua |
author_sort |
M. Liu |
title |
Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
title_short |
Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
title_full |
Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
title_fullStr |
Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water masses in the Atlantic Ocean: characteristics and distributions |
title_sort |
water masses in the atlantic ocean: characteristics and distributions |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-463-2021 https://doaj.org/article/5842d62d528340fa9416833411bb4dff |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Denmark Strait Iceland Labrador Sea NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Northeast Atlantic Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Denmark Strait Iceland Labrador Sea NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Northeast Atlantic Subarctic |
op_source |
Ocean Science, Vol 17, Pp 463-486 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/463/2021/os-17-463-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-17-463-2021 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/5842d62d528340fa9416833411bb4dff |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-463-2021 |
container_title |
Ocean Science |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
463 |
op_container_end_page |
486 |
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1766262143778291712 |