Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases
Currently available transient tracers have different application ranges that are defined by their temporal input (chronological transient tracers) or their decay rate (radioactive transient tracers). Transient tracers range from tracers for highly ventilated water masses such as sulfur hexafluoride...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f860cc4684a34270ac7f46f67872446c 2023-05-15T13:56:12+02:00 Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases T. Stöven T. Tanhua M. Hoppema J. L. Bullister 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-699-2015 https://doaj.org/article/f860cc4684a34270ac7f46f67872446c EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.ocean-sci.net/11/699/2015/os-11-699-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 1812-0784 1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-11-699-2015 https://doaj.org/article/f860cc4684a34270ac7f46f67872446c Ocean Science, Vol 11, Iss 5, Pp 699-718 (2015) Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-699-2015 2022-12-31T12:36:02Z Currently available transient tracers have different application ranges that are defined by their temporal input (chronological transient tracers) or their decay rate (radioactive transient tracers). Transient tracers range from tracers for highly ventilated water masses such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) through tritium ( 3 H) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) up to tracers for less ventilated deep ocean basins such as argon-39 ( 39 Ar) and radiocarbon ( 14 C). In this context, highly ventilated water masses are defined as water masses that have been in contact with the atmosphere during the last decade. Transient tracers can be used to empirically constrain the transit time distribution (TTD), which can often be approximated with an inverse Gaussian (IG) distribution. The IG-TTD provides information about ventilation and the advective/diffusive characteristics of a water parcel. Here we provide an overview of commonly used transient tracer couples and the corresponding application range of the IG-TTD by using the new concept of validity areas. CFC-12, CFC-11 and SF 6 data from three different cruises in the South Atlantic Ocean and Southern Ocean as well as 39 Ar data from the 1980s and early 1990s in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Weddell Sea are used to demonstrate this method. We found that the IG-TTD can be constrained along the Greenwich Meridian south to 46° S, which corresponds to the Subantarctic Front (SAF) denoting the application limit. The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) describes the limiting water layer in the vertical. Conspicuous high or lower ratios between the advective and diffusive components describe the transition between the validity area and the application limit of the IG-TTD model rather than describing the physical properties of the water parcel. The combination of 39 Ar and CFC data places constraints on the IG-TTD in the deep water north of the SAF, but not beyond this limit. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic South Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell Greenwich Ocean Science 11 5 699 718 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
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 T. Stöven T. Tanhua M. Hoppema J. L. Bullister Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
topic_facet |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Currently available transient tracers have different application ranges that are defined by their temporal input (chronological transient tracers) or their decay rate (radioactive transient tracers). Transient tracers range from tracers for highly ventilated water masses such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) through tritium ( 3 H) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) up to tracers for less ventilated deep ocean basins such as argon-39 ( 39 Ar) and radiocarbon ( 14 C). In this context, highly ventilated water masses are defined as water masses that have been in contact with the atmosphere during the last decade. Transient tracers can be used to empirically constrain the transit time distribution (TTD), which can often be approximated with an inverse Gaussian (IG) distribution. The IG-TTD provides information about ventilation and the advective/diffusive characteristics of a water parcel. Here we provide an overview of commonly used transient tracer couples and the corresponding application range of the IG-TTD by using the new concept of validity areas. CFC-12, CFC-11 and SF 6 data from three different cruises in the South Atlantic Ocean and Southern Ocean as well as 39 Ar data from the 1980s and early 1990s in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Weddell Sea are used to demonstrate this method. We found that the IG-TTD can be constrained along the Greenwich Meridian south to 46° S, which corresponds to the Subantarctic Front (SAF) denoting the application limit. The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) describes the limiting water layer in the vertical. Conspicuous high or lower ratios between the advective and diffusive components describe the transition between the validity area and the application limit of the IG-TTD model rather than describing the physical properties of the water parcel. The combination of 39 Ar and CFC data places constraints on the IG-TTD in the deep water north of the SAF, but not beyond this limit. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T. Stöven T. Tanhua M. Hoppema J. L. Bullister |
author_facet |
T. Stöven T. Tanhua M. Hoppema J. L. Bullister |
author_sort |
T. Stöven |
title |
Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
title_short |
Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
title_full |
Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
title_fullStr |
Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
title_full_unstemmed |
Perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
title_sort |
perspectives of transient tracer applications and limiting cases |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-699-2015 https://doaj.org/article/f860cc4684a34270ac7f46f67872446c |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell Greenwich |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell Greenwich |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic South Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic South Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Ocean Science, Vol 11, Iss 5, Pp 699-718 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.ocean-sci.net/11/699/2015/os-11-699-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 1812-0784 1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-11-699-2015 https://doaj.org/article/f860cc4684a34270ac7f46f67872446c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-699-2015 |
container_title |
Ocean Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
699 |
op_container_end_page |
718 |
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1766263562622205952 |