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Details of stratification in a sloping bottom boundary layer of Great Meteor Seamount
Author(s) -
van Haren Hans
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl022298
Subject(s) - geology , stratification (seeds) , seamount , downwelling , boundary layer , internal wave , upwelling , geophysics , homogeneous , oceanography , mechanics , seed dormancy , botany , germination , physics , dormancy , biology , thermodynamics
Detailed temperature and current observations show rapid variations in vertical overturning and stratification above Great Meteor Seamount. Classically, steady downwelling interior flow generates a large homogeneous turbulent bottom boundary layer (bbl) and upwelling interior flow generates a small bbl above a sloping bottom. In contrast, the present observations show the dominance of bores and waves in bbl variations above a slope that is non‐critical for internal tidal waves. During the upslope tidal phase a small bbl is preceded by a breaking bore extending up to 50 m. The bore shows many small stratified layers. These small layers organize in two large, strongly stratified layers, one at <10 m, the other at ∼40 m. During the downslope phase only the lower remains. Above it a thick ∼homogeneous layer is observed, which however does not reach the bottom and thus cannot qualify as a bbl having no influence on sediment resuspension.