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Salt-finger induced enhancement of upper-ocean nutrient supply

Salt-finger induced enhancement of upper-ocean nutrient supply
Salt-finger induced enhancement of upper-ocean nutrient supply
In the subtropics, estimates of upper-ocean nitrate supply by turbulent mixing have been found insufficient to balance estimated nutrient loss through organic-matter export. Most mixing-rate estimates as well as numerical turbulence closure schemes commonly employed in numerical models have, however, neglected salt-finger induced mixing. Here we examine the potential contribution of salt-finger induced mixing to nutrient fluxes. Our model results suggest that salt-fingering instabilities generate substantial nutrient fluxes (on average 0.03 mol N m-2 yr-1) which are of similar magnitude as fluxes associated with mechanically induced turbulence or with mesoscale eddies. Because salt-fingering activity depends on the proportion of temperature versus salinity effects on stratification rather than on the stability of stratification itself, its sensitivity to climate change will differ from that of “ordinary” mixing processes and needs to be considered in the context of global change.
0094-8276
2204
Oschlies, A.
1e17ff79-6084-4a56-b130-7d39dcd7568f
Dietze, H.
4e483d18-55f0-410a-9c08-155f686e07bf
Kahler, P.
5716ba79-21a1-4ad9-8ec8-733564d4c408
Oschlies, A.
1e17ff79-6084-4a56-b130-7d39dcd7568f
Dietze, H.
4e483d18-55f0-410a-9c08-155f686e07bf
Kahler, P.
5716ba79-21a1-4ad9-8ec8-733564d4c408

Oschlies, A., Dietze, H. and Kahler, P. (2003) Salt-finger induced enhancement of upper-ocean nutrient supply. Geophysical Research Letters, 30 (23), 2204. (doi:10.1029/2003GL018552).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In the subtropics, estimates of upper-ocean nitrate supply by turbulent mixing have been found insufficient to balance estimated nutrient loss through organic-matter export. Most mixing-rate estimates as well as numerical turbulence closure schemes commonly employed in numerical models have, however, neglected salt-finger induced mixing. Here we examine the potential contribution of salt-finger induced mixing to nutrient fluxes. Our model results suggest that salt-fingering instabilities generate substantial nutrient fluxes (on average 0.03 mol N m-2 yr-1) which are of similar magnitude as fluxes associated with mechanically induced turbulence or with mesoscale eddies. Because salt-fingering activity depends on the proportion of temperature versus salinity effects on stratification rather than on the stability of stratification itself, its sensitivity to climate change will differ from that of “ordinary” mixing processes and needs to be considered in the context of global change.

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Published date: 2003
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 12710
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/12710
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 9c512212-4028-4058-b319-769f5896e1ed

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Date deposited: 01 Dec 2004
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:07

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Contributors

Author: A. Oschlies
Author: H. Dietze
Author: P. Kahler

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