Response to Reviewer 1

Abstract

Scientific commentsOn a spatially dependent MLD definition. The reviewer questions our suggestion that the suitability of the MLD criteria thresholds may vary spatially. We adopted de Boyer Montegut et al., (2004) as a well performing and widely cited scheme. However, there are a number of clear points that would not support this as an optimal definition. As we discuss in section 3, the calculation of the MLD is complicated by the wide variety of temperature and density profiles observed in the ocean, making any MLD criteria susceptible to errors in certain circumstances. The temperature criterion is not set to be optimal in every global location or season but a single criterion that is "fairly successful" C1