Two-dimensional temperature structure in the C-SALT thermohaline staircase

Marmorino, G. O.; Brown, W.K.; Morris, W. D.

doi:10.1016/0198-0149(87)90015-x

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The ability of the exact solutions to predict the variation of flux ratio with Lewis number, Prandtl number and to some extent density ratio, provided great impetus for its further application to the problem of the salt finger width, at which it also succeeded (Gargett and Schmitt, 1982;Marmorino et al, 1987). Oceanic observations of the finger width are quite consistent with the "Stern scale" of ∼2π(gαT Z /νκ T ) −1/4 , which is typically a few centimeters.…”

Section: The Long Finger Solutionssupporting

confidence: 52%

Thermohaline convection at density ratios below one: A new regime for salt fingers

Schmitt¹

2011

j mar res

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New experimental results on haline convection show a surprising preference for narrow fingers over large-scale convection when even a small stabilizing temperature gradient is present (Hage and Tilgner, 2010). This regime has heat/salt density ratios below one, a parameter range that has not been explored in traditional salt finger theory. Here the properties of the exact (long finger) solutions of Schmitt (1979Schmitt ( , 1983) are explored at low density ratios. It is found that narrow finger solutions are indeed obtained and remain the fastest growing in some circumstances, though the selective advantage of the "Stern scale" can disappear as the density ratio decreases. The variation of solutions with Prandtl number and the relation to the Stern (1975) approximate solution are examined and discussed.

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Section: The Long Finger Solutionssupporting

confidence: 52%

Thermohaline convection at density ratios below one: A new regime for salt fingers

Schmitt¹

2011

j mar res

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“…Direct observations of salt fingers are consistent with the fastest growing mode of linear theory (Schrnitt 2003). Images of oceanic salt fingers captured using an optical shadowgraph (Williams, 1974) support the towed microstructure data which has a dominant horizontal wavelength of 5-6 centimeters in agreement with theory (Magnell, 1973;Marmorino et al, 1987). In ocean observations and analogous laboratory experiments salt fingers are not ubiquitous in the water column but occur in thin interfaces.…”

Section: Observations Of Salt Fingerssupporting

confidence: 52%

Temperature and salinity variability in thermohaline staircase layers

Stuebe¹

2005

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A moored profiler record from the western tropical North Atlantic provides the first continuous time series of temperature, salinity and velocity profiles in a thermohaline staircase. Variations in the intensity of layering and the evolution of layer properties are well documented during the 4.3 month record. Such staircases are the result of strong salt fingering at the interfaces between the mixed layers, and these data provide unique insights into the dynamics of salt fingers. In particular, a striking linear correlation between the temperature and salinity of the layers may be interpreted as resulting from vertical salt finger flux divergences. Data from this record allow new interpretations of previous work on this topic by McDougall (1991).

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“…The dissipation rate of thermal variance c q 0 6k q q ¶ 2 z , where q ¶ z represents the microscale (centimeter) fluctuations in the vertical temperature gradient, shows prominent peaks at the interfaces ( Fig. 1B), although evidence for the narrowbandwidth temperature anomalies previously seen in horizontally towed data (16,17) was lacking in these vertical profiles. A measure of the propensity for salt fingering is the theoretical salt finger growth rate that can be calculated from the separately measured meter-scale vertiWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.…”

mentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Similarly, some fraction of the observed turbulent dissipation is likely to be contributed by internal wave processes. However, the enhanced diapycnal dispersion of SF 6 in the staircase region relative to NATRE, the strongly layered stratification with few temperature inversions, the distinct temperature-salinity relations within the layers (5), the enhanced thermal microstructure in the salt-finger-favorable depth intervals with small turbulent dissipation, and past evidence for bandwidth-limited microstructure in these steps (16,17) lead us to conclude that salt fingering is contributing to enhanced vertical mixing in the western tropical thermocline of the North Atlantic with an effective diapycnal diffusivity for salt and tracers twice that of heat.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhanced Diapycnal Mixing by Salt Fingers in the Thermocline of the Tropical Atlantic

Schmitt

Ledwell

Montgomery

et al. 2005

Science

166

157

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Diapycnal mixing plays a significant role in the ocean's circulation and uptake of heat and carbon dioxide, but has not been quantified in salt finger-driven thermohaline staircases. We recently performed a tracer release experiment in the western tropical Atlantic staircase at approximately 400 m depth. The observed dispersion implies an effective diapycnal diffusivity for tracer and salt of 0.8 to 0.9 x 10(-4) m2/s. Temperature microstructure data interpreted in terms of a vertical production-dissipation balance yields a smaller effective diffusivity for heat of 0.45 (+/- 0.2) x 10(-4) m2/s, consistent with salt fingers and well above the mixing ascribable to mechanical turbulence.

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Two-dimensional temperature structure in the C-SALT thermohaline staircase

Cited by 38 publications

References 13 publications

Thermohaline convection at density ratios below one: A new regime for salt fingers

Thermohaline convection at density ratios below one: A new regime for salt fingers

Temperature and salinity variability in thermohaline staircase layers

Enhanced Diapycnal Mixing by Salt Fingers in the Thermocline of the Tropical Atlantic

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