Spatial variability of turbulent mixing in the abyssal ocean
Spatial variability of turbulent mixing in the abyssal ocean
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DOI：
10.1126/science.276.5309.93
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发表时间：
1997-04-04
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Schmitt, RW
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Polzin, KL;Toole, JM;Schmitt, RW
海洋微观结构数据表明，在光滑的深海平原和南美大陆隆起之上的所有深度，南大西洋巴西盆地深处的湍流混合都很弱。据估计，那里的横冲扩散率小于或近似等于0.1 x 10(-4) m²/ s。相比之下，在大西洋中脊上方的水柱中，混合率很大，最底部150米的扩散率超过5 × 10（-4）平方米每秒。这种垂直混合模式意味着深海环流具有复杂的空间结构，这些结构与海底测深有关。
Ocean microstructure data show that turbulent mixing in the deep Brazil Basin of the South Atlantic Ocean is weak at all depths above smooth abyssal plains and the South American Continental Rise. The diapycnal diffusivity there was estimated to be less than or approximately equal to 0.1 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. In contrast, mixing rates are large throughout the water column above the rough Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the diffusivity deduced for the bottom-most 150 meters exceeds 5 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. Such patterns in vertical mixing imply that abyssal circulations have complex spatial structures that are linked to the underlying bathymetry.