Properties of the Discretely Stratified Microstructure in the Arctic Ocean.

The layered microstructure in the Arctic Ocean is examined from long time-series of high-resolution temperature profiles and concurrent digital salinity data. The motion within the layers is found to be turbulent, while the flow within the interface sheets is laminar. The structure is stable for lon...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barney,William Clifford
Other Authors: NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CALIF
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1971
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
(*ARCTIC OCEAN
BOUNDARY LAYER)
MICROSTRUCTURE
INTERFACES
FLUID FLOW
OCEAN WAVES
LAMINAR FLOW
TURBULENCE
DENSITY
DIFFUSION
SALTS
SALINITY
HEAT TRANSFER
THESES
TEMPERATURE
NAVAL RESEARCH
INTERNAL WAVES
STRATIFICATION
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0734973
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0734973
Description
Summary:The layered microstructure in the Arctic Ocean is examined from long time-series of high-resolution temperature profiles and concurrent digital salinity data. The motion within the layers is found to be turbulent, while the flow within the interface sheets is laminar. The structure is stable for long periods of time, and is coherent for a considerable horizontal extent. It is suggested that the initial formation of the layers is due to the energy dissipation of higher modes of locally generated internal waves. The layers may be sustained for long periods by weak shear produced by geostrophic density currents. The distribution of salinity and temperature differences between layers indicates that the layers are in a state of dynamic equilibrium, the differing diffusion characteristics of heat and salt accounting for the transfer of these properties across the interface sheets. (Author)

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