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| Titel |
The instability of diffusive convection and its implication for the thermohaline staircases in the deep Arctic Ocean |
| VerfasserIn |
S.-Q. Zhou, L. Qu, Y.-Z. Lu, X.-L. Song |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1812-0784
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Ocean Science ; 10, no. 1 ; Nr. 10, no. 1 (2014-02-24), S.127-134 |
| Datensatznummer |
250116927
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/os-10-127-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| In the present study, the classical description of diffusive convection is
updated to interpret the instability of diffusive interfaces and the
dynamical evolution of the bottom layer in the deep Arctic Ocean. In the new
consideration of convective instability, both the background salinity
stratification and rotation are involved. The critical Rayleigh number of
diffusive convection is found to vary from 103 to 1011 in the deep
Arctic Ocean as well as in other oceans and lakes. In such a wide range of
conditions, the interface-induced thermal Rayleigh number is shown to be
consistent with the critical Rayleigh number of diffusive convection. In most
regions, background salinity stratification is found to be the main hindrance
to the occurrence of convecting layers. With the new parameterization, it is
predicted that the maximum thickness of the bottom layer is 1051 m in the
deep Arctic Ocean, which is close to the observed value of 929 m. The evolution time of
the bottom layer is predicted to be ~ 100 yr, which is on the same
order as that based on 14C isolation age estimation. |
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