Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Byrd, Allison Leigh
Author's Email Address	albyrd@coastal.edu
URN	etd-04132008-211150
Title	Using the MITgcm to Investigate Water Mass Formation Rates
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Oceanography, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Kevin Speer Committee Co-Chair William Dewar Committee Co-Chair Jeff Chanton Committee Member
Keywords	Water Mass Mode Water Water Formation MITgcm
Date of Defense	2007-12-10
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The ocean is coupled to the atmosphere via heat and freshwater fluxes. Ocean processes that play a role in the flux of heat in the ocean and atmosphere are of primary concern in this age of global climate change. These fluxes can act to convert one water mass into another. For example if the rate of conversion varies, water masses then tend to either accumulate or deplete. Walin used this theory to study the relationship between water mass volume and its heat supply. Speer and Tziperman, utilizing Walin’s principle, calculated the water mass formation rates in Eighteen Degree Mode Water using climatological data. They report a formation rate of 15-20 Sverdrups. Here, Walin’s theory and equations are also used, but mixing is neglected and only the air-sea heat flux is accounted for. The formation rate is calculated between two isotherms using the MITgcm data, averaged over various time scales. It is hoped that the values will be able to help explain the unusually large values obtained by Tziperman and Speer.
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