Conditional instabilities of the Greenland Sea
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Authors
Olson, James M.
Subjects
Oceanography
Depth dependent thermal expansion coefficient
Neutral parcel stability
Deep convection in the Greenland Sea
Depth dependent thermal expansion coefficient
Neutral parcel stability
Deep convection in the Greenland Sea
Advisors
Garwood, Roland W.
Date of Issue
1992-09
Date
September 1992
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
This is an examination of the open ocean deep water formation process of the Greenland sea and how it is effected by the depth dependent thermal expansion coefficient. It is hypothesized that free convection associated with parcel instability is possible because of the increase of the thermal expansion coefficient with pressure in conjunction with requisite ambient temperature and salinity profiles. Based on the depth dependence of the thermal expansion coefficient, a natural profile model for parcel instability was formulated and the effects on mixed layer dynamics were investigated. In situ profiles for the wintertime Greenland Sea were examined for potential parcel instabilities. it was shown that only small surface salinity increases associated with freezing could lead to deep penetrative convection. Finally, an analysis was performed for regions of low stability using climatology from the Levitus data set ti determine regions most likely for deep convection.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Oceanography
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
51 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.