Atlas of North Pacific Ocean Monthly Mean Temperaturs and Mean Salinities of the Surface Layer,
Abstract
Temperature structure in the North Pacific Ocean is presented in monthly means charts at 100-ft depths, surface to 400 ft (122 m). These charts were constructed from bathythermograph (BT) data obtained from 1942 to 1969, hydrocast data, means extracted from published charts, and unpublished tabulations of means. The charts were traced from computer-generated plots made directly from 1 deg quadrangle temperature means. Annual cycle temperature curves, at 10 deg-longitude and 5 deg-latitude intervals. Contrast the remarkable changes in seasonal cycles from the northern latitudes where the greatest change is at the surface to the equatorial current region where the annual range at the surface is very small and the subsurface range is large. The occurrences of middepth temperature maxima or minima also can be seen on these curves. Mean monthly thermocline depth charts are indicative of the mixed layer. Tight horizontal temperature gradients are associated with current, water mass boundaries or, beneath the surface, with the intersection of the depth level with the thermocline. Charts showing the temperature difference between the surface and 400 ft estimate the strength of the thermocline gradient between the top of the thermocline and 400 ft. Salinity charts are presented for the five depth levels. Charts of annual mean temperatures and temperature range are also presented for the five depth levels.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA094034
Entities
People
- Margaret K. Robinson
- Roger A. Bauer
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography