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Archive · collection · 2018

CTD and current meter data from SONNE cruises SO239 and SO240

Listed in PANGAEA

A 400m long array with 201 high-resolution NIOZ temperature sensors was deployed above a north-east equatorial Pacific hilly abyssal plain for 2.5 months.

Description

The sensors sampled at a rate of 1Hz. The lowest sensor was at 7m above the bottom (ma.b.).

The aim was to study internal waves and turbulent overturning away from large-scale ocean topography. Topography consisted of moderately elevated hills (a few hundred metres), providing a mean bottom slope of one-third of that found at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (on 2km horizontal scales). In contrast with observations over large-scale topography like guyots, ridges and continental slopes, the present data showed a well-defined near-homogeneous "bottom boundary layer".

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However, its thickness varied strongly with time between < 7 and 100ma.b. with a mean around 65ma.b. The average thickness exceeded tidal current bottom-frictional heights so that internal wave breaking dominated over bottom friction. Near-bottom fronts also varied in time (and thus space).

Occasional coupling was observed between the interior internal wave breaking and the near-bottom overturning, with varying up- and down- phase propagation. In contrast with currents that were dominated by the semidiurnal tide, 200m shear was dominant at (sub-)inertial frequencies. The shear was so large that it provided a background of marginal stability for the straining high-frequency internal wave field in the interior.

Daily averaged turbulence dissipation rate estimates were between 10−10 and 10−9m2s−3, increasing with depth, while eddy diffusivities were of the order of 10−4m2s−1. This most intense "near-bottom" internal-wave-induced turbulence will affect the resuspension of sediments.

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Provenance · 1 source records, 7 field assertions
SourceKeyLast seenRaw
PANGAEAoai:pangaea.de:doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.89147611 d agoJSON v1
FieldAssertionExtractorEvidence
access_levelsource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0
concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmentalmapping · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0
descriptionsource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0/metadata/dc/description
licensesource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0/metadata/dc/rights
publication_datesource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0
spatialsource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0
titlesource · PANGAEAconnector:pangaea@1.0.0/metadata/dc/title