The Influence of Energetic Mesoscale Eddies on the Ocean Thermal Structure

Abstract

The influence of internal heating by mesoscale eddies on the oceanic temperature structure is tested by including a vertical heat transport term, W'T', in the ocean thermal budget equation. In the past studies of the thermocline problem, the heat transport term has been neglected. Analytical and numerical test cases were run solving the heat equation with and without the mesoscale eddy transport term for baroclinic and barotropic conditions in the ocean. Whenever heating by mesoscale eddies was included in the heat equation, excessive cooling occurred in the upper 1000 m of the ocean. The results of the test cases indicate that the eddies do have a distinct influence on the ocean's thermal structure and need to be included in solutions to the heat equation for the ocean.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1976
Accession Number
ADA026461

Entities

People

  • Willine E. Christensen

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Classification
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Equations
  • Heat Transfer
  • Heating
  • Isotherms
  • Meteorology
  • Models
  • Potential Energy
  • Steady State
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Thermoclines
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Oceanography.