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Munk (1966) showed that the deep (1000-3000 m) vertical temperature profileis consistent with a one-dimensional vertical advection-diffusion balance, witha constant upwelling and an interior diapycnal diffusivity of$\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ m$^{2}$ s$^{-1}$. However, typical observeddiffusivities in the interior are $\mathcal{O}(10^{-5})$ m$^{2}$ s$^{-1}$.Recent work suggested that the deep stratification is set by Southern Ocean(SO) isopycnal slopes, fixed by SO eddies, that communicate the surface outcroppositions to the deep ocean. It is shown here, using an idealized ocean generalcirculation model, that SO eddies alone cannot lead to the observed exponentialtemperature profile, and that interior mixing must contribute. Strong diapycnalmixing concentrated near the ocean boundaries is shown to be balanced locallyby upwelling. A one-dimensional Munk-like balance in these boundary mixingareas, although with much larger mixing and upwelling, leads to an exponentialdeep temperature stratification, which propagates via isopycnal mixing to theocean interior. The exponential profile is robust to vertical variations in thevertical velocity, and persists despite the observed weak interior diapycnalmixing. Southern Ocean eddies link the surface water mass transformation byair-sea fluxes with the deep stratification, but the eddies do not determinethe stratification itself. These results reconcile the observed exponentialinterior deep temperature stratification, the weak diapycnal diffusivityobserved in tracer release experiments, and the role of Southern Oceandynamics.

Reconciling the Observed Mid-Depth Exponential Ocean Stratification with  Weak Interior Mixing and Southern Ocean Dynamics via Boundary-Intensified  Mixing