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Double‐diffusive layers in the Adriatic Sea
Author(s) -
Carniel Sandro,
Sclavo Mauro,
Kantha Lakshmi,
Prandke Hartmut
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1029/2007gl032389
Subject(s) - plume , water mass , outflow , geology , double diffusive convection , mediterranean sea , turbulence , oceanography , convection , panache , mixing (physics) , water column , mediterranean climate , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geography , physics , natural convection , archaeology , quantum mechanics , rayleigh number
A microstructure profiler was deployed to make turbulence measurements in the upper layers of the southern Adriatic Sea in the Mediterranean during the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) DART06A (Dynamics of the Adriatic in Real Time) winter cruise in March 2006. Measurements in the Po river plume along the Italian coast near the Gargano promontory displayed classic double‐diffusive layers and staircase structures resulting from the relatively colder and fresher wintertime Po river outflow water masses overlying warmer and more saline water masses from the Adriatic Sea. We report here on the water mass and turbulence structure measurements made both in the double‐diffusive interfaces and the adjoining mixed layers in the water columns undergoing double‐diffusive convection (DDC). This dataset augments the relatively sparse observations available hitherto on the diffusive layer type of DDC. Measured turbulence diffusivities are consistent with those from earlier theoretical and experimental formulations, suggesting that the wintertime Po river plume is a convenient and easily accessible place to study double diffusive convective processes of importance to mixing in the interior of many regions of the global oceans.