Heat and Buoyancy Budgets and Mixing Rates in the Upper Thermocline of the Indian and Global Oceans

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Abstract
Diapycnal and diathermal diffusivity values in the upper thermocline are estimated from buoyancy and heat budgets for water volumes bounded by isopycnals and isotherms, the air–sea interface, and coastline where applicable. Comprehensive analysis is given to the Indian Ocean, with an extended global general description. The Indian Ocean gains buoyancy in the north (especially in the northeast) and loses buoyancy in the subtropical south. Freshest and least-dense water appears in the Bay of Bengal and isopycnals outcrop southwestward from there and then southward. Computation of diapycnal diffusivity (Kρ) starts from the Bay of Bengal, expanding southwestward and southward and with depth. As isopycnals extend equatorward from the northeast and with increasing depth, Kρ remains at about 1.3 cm2 s−1 for 20.2 σθ (Bay of Bengal) to 22.0 σθ (northeast Indian Ocean). Farther south (poleward) and at greater depth, Kρ decreases from 0.9 cm2 s−1 for 23.0 σθ (north of 20°S) to 0.5 cm2 s−1 for 25.0 σθ (north... Abstract Diapycnal and diathermal diffusivity values in the upper thermocline are estimated from buoyancy and heat budgets for water volumes bounded by isopycnals and isotherms, the air–sea interface, and coastline where applicable. Comprehensive analysis is given to the Indian Ocean, with an extended global general description. The Indian Ocean gains buoyancy in the north (especially in the northeast) and loses buoyancy in the subtropical south. Freshest and least-dense water appears in the Bay of Bengal and isopycnals outcrop southwestward from there and then southward. Computation of diapycnal diffusivity (Kρ) starts from the Bay of Bengal, expanding southwestward and southward and with depth. As isopycnals extend equatorward from the northeast and with increasing depth, Kρ remains at about 1.3 cm2 s−1 for 20.2 σθ (Bay of Bengal) to 22.0 σθ (northeast Indian Ocean). Farther south (poleward) and at greater depth, Kρ decreases from 0.9 cm2 s−1 for 23.0 σθ (north of 20°S) to 0.5 cm2 s−1 for 25.0 σθ (north...

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