Abstract
Vertical eddy diffusivities (Kv's) have been estimated at fourteen widely separated locations from fourteen 222Rn profiles and two 228Ra profiles measured near the ocean floor as part of the Atlantic and Pacific GEOSECS programs. They show an inverse proportionality to the local buoyancy gradient [(g/ρ{variant})(∂ρ{variant}pot/∂z)] calculated from hydrographic measurements. The negative of the constant of proportionality is the buoyancy flux [-Kv(g/ρ{variant})(∂ρ{variant}pot/∂z)] which has a mean of -4 × 10-6 cm2/sec3. Our results suggest that the buoyancy flux varies very little near the ocean floor. Kv's for the interior of the deep Pacific calculated from the relationship Kv = (4 × 10-6 cm2/sec3)/[(g/ρ{variant})(∂ρ{variant}pot/∂z)] agree well with published estimates. Kv's calculated for the pycnocline are one to two orders of magnitude smaller than upper limits estimated from tritium and 7Be distributions. Heat fluxes calculated with the model Kv's obtained from the 222Rn profiles average 31 μcal cm-2 sec-1 in the Atlantic Ocean and 8 μcal cm-2 sec-1 in the Pacific Ocean.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 357-370 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1976 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geophysics
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science