Abstract
It is hypothesized that double diffusive interleaving can act to enhance the temperature, salinity and buoyancy signatures of some mesoscale structures. The hypothesis is founded on theoretical results showing that the fluxes produced by double diffusive interleaving can have counter-gradient components, and on the observations that isolated mesoscale rings have a long lifetime and that there is intense interleaving in the frontal zone typically surrounding the ring. Quantitative examples for a warm and a cold core ring demonstrate the feasibility of the hypothesis. Some suggestions are given for extending the hypothesis to include other mesoscale features. Also theoretical investigations and field experiments to test further the hypothesis are suggested.
Recommended Citation
Posmentier, Eric S., and A. D. Kirwan. 1985. "The role of double diffusive interleaving in mesoscale dynamics: An hypothesis." Journal of Marine Research 43, (3). https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/1786