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On the use of carbon tetrachloride as a transient tracer of Weddell Sea deep and bottom waters
Author(s) -
Meredith Michael P.,
Van Scoy Kim A.,
Watson Andrew J.,
Locarnini Ricardo A.
Publication year - 1996
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 - 10.1029/96gl02770
Subject(s) - weddell sea bottom water , bottom water , antarctic bottom water , circumpolar deep water , oceanography , geology , tracer , surface water , water column , environmental science , sea ice , deep water , ice shelf , north atlantic deep water , cryosphere , physics , environmental engineering , nuclear physics
Antarctic bottom waters have long been known to be a mixture of Circumpolar Deep Water and Shelf Water. Recent observations show that in the Antarctic bottom waters of the Scotia Sea and northern Weddell Sea, the ratios of carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) to chlorofluorocarbons (CFC‐11, 12) are inconsistent with the ratios observed in the surface layer of the Weddell Sea. This is the result of a deficit of CCl 4 in the bottom waters, and renders the compound unsuitable for use as a transient tracer from which apparent ages can be derived directly. The summer near‐surface temperature minimum of Antarctic Surface Water exhibits a similar inconsistency, demonstrating that CCl 4 can be removed from cold waters with high oxygen levels, probably through a biological process. It is inferred that Shelf Water features a similar CCl 4 deficit which is transferred to the new Antarctic bottom waters upon formation, accounting for the observed deep CCl 4 deficit.