The Intradiurnal Temperature Variation in the Upper Ocean Layer

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Abstract
An experiment to investigate the structure of the oceanic mixed layer was conducted between 28 September and 14 October, 1971, at 21N and between 66 and 67W aboard the NOAA Discoverer. During the experiment a quartz thermometer system capable of measuring temperature changes to within 0.001C was deployed from a surface buoy. Time-series temperature data were obtained from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 m depths and digitally recorded with a sampling interval of 1.1 min. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the temperature fluctuations in the mixed layer at selected levels for a three-day period characterized by fair weather conditions. STD measurements indicate there were no observable changes in salinity during this period. The observations show downward propagation of the diurnal heat wave at a rate of about 5 m hr−1 resulting in a turbulent exchange coefficient for the diurnal cycle of the order of 100 cm2 sec−1. During the heating portion of the cycle, which occurs during the day, the mix... Abstract An experiment to investigate the structure of the oceanic mixed layer was conducted between 28 September and 14 October, 1971, at 21N and between 66 and 67W aboard the NOAA Discoverer. During the experiment a quartz thermometer system capable of measuring temperature changes to within 0.001C was deployed from a surface buoy. Time-series temperature data were obtained from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 m depths and digitally recorded with a sampling interval of 1.1 min. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the temperature fluctuations in the mixed layer at selected levels for a three-day period characterized by fair weather conditions. STD measurements indicate there were no observable changes in salinity during this period. The observations show downward propagation of the diurnal heat wave at a rate of about 5 m hr−1 resulting in a turbulent exchange coefficient for the diurnal cycle of the order of 100 cm2 sec−1. During the heating portion of the cycle, which occurs during the day, the mix...

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