The Oceanic Thermocline and the Associated Thermohaline Circulation

Abstract

A study is made of the thermal structure of an ocean which is dynamically geostrophic, bounded by an eastern coast, and driven by an imposed surface temperature distribution and wind-stress. The heat equation contains vertical diffusion in the form of a virtual eddy mixing parameter and non-linear terms of vertical and north-south advection. Comparison of the results with the North Atlantic shows an agreement with the observed temperature distribution in the thermocline region, including the deepening of isotherms in mid-latitudes. The value of the vertical component of velocity at the bottom of the thermocline is predicted, and a numerical value for the eddy-conductivity obtained.