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1982•Journal of Geophysical Research AtmospheresRequires access

Radium 228 as a tracer of basin wide processes in the abyssal ocean

Jorge L. Sarmiento, Claes Rooth, Wallace S. Broecker

Open publisher page 48 citations

Abstract

A simple model of isopycnal mixing in a circular basin is developed in order to examine the utility of the 5.75‐year half‐life tracer radium 228 for studying basin wide processes in the deep ocean. The model shows that it is possible to resolve diffusivities of ≤8×107 cm2 s−1 in a basin of ∼3000‐km diameter with profiles measured near the center and edge of the basin. A least squares fit of the model to four abyssal profiles measured during GEOSECS in the North American Basin gives an isopycnal diffusivity of 6×107 cm2 s−1.

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What this paper is about

A simple model of isopycnal mixing in a circular basin is developed in order to examine the utility of the 5.75‐year half‐life tracer radium 228 for studying basin wide processes in the deep ocean. The model shows that it is possible to resolve diffusivities of ≤8×107 cm2 s−1 in a basin of ∼3000‐km diameter with profiles measured near the center and edge of the basin. A least squares fit of the model to four abyssal profiles measured during GEOSECS in the North American Basin gives an isopycnal diffusivity of 6×107 cm2 s−1.

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Available abstract

A simple model of isopycnal mixing in a circular basin is developed in order to examine the utility of the 5.75‐year half‐life tracer radium 228 for studying basin wide processes in the deep ocean. The model shows that it is possible to resolve diffusivities of ≤8×107 cm2 s−1 in a basin of ∼3000‐km diameter with profiles measured near the center and edge of the basin. A least squares fit of the model to four abyssal profiles measured during GEOSECS in the North American Basin gives an isopycnal diffusivity of 6×107 cm2 s−1.

Key concepts: Isopycnal, Abyssal zone, Structural basin, TRACER, Geology, Radium, Oceanic basin, Oceanography

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