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- Author or Editor: Sheng-Qi Zhou x
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An Objective Method for Determining Ocean Mixed Layer Depth with Applications to WOCE DataAbstract
A new method is developed to identify the mixed layer depth (MLD) from individual temperature or density profiles. A relative variance profile is obtained that is the ratio between the standard deviation and the maximum variation of the temperature (density) from the sea surface, and the depth of the minimum relative variance is defined as the MLD. The new method is robust in finding the MLD under the influence of random noise (noise level ≤ 5%). A comparison with other available methods, which include the threshold (difference, difference interpolation, gradient, and hybrid methods) and objective (curvature and maximum angle methods) methods, is carried out using the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) data. It is found that for a variety of depth sampling resolutions ranging from 0.04 to 25 dbar, the new method and the difference-interpolation method predict MLD values that are closer to the visually inspected ones than those by other methods. Moreover, the quality index (QI) of the MLD that is determined by the new method is the highest when compared with those of the available methods. Also, the application of the new method on the WOCE global dataset yields 94% of MLD values with 
Abstract
A new method is developed to identify the mixed layer depth (MLD) from individual temperature or density profiles. A relative variance profile is obtained that is the ratio between the standard deviation and the maximum variation of the temperature (density) from the sea surface, and the depth of the minimum relative variance is defined as the MLD. The new method is robust in finding the MLD under the influence of random noise (noise level ≤ 5%). A comparison with other available methods, which include the threshold (difference, difference interpolation, gradient, and hybrid methods) and objective (curvature and maximum angle methods) methods, is carried out using the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) data. It is found that for a variety of depth sampling resolutions ranging from 0.04 to 25 dbar, the new method and the difference-interpolation method predict MLD values that are closer to the visually inspected ones than those by other methods. Moreover, the quality index (QI) of the MLD that is determined by the new method is the highest when compared with those of the available methods. Also, the application of the new method on the WOCE global dataset yields 94% of MLD values with
An Integrated Method for Determining the Oceanic Bottom Mixed Layer Thickness Based on WOCE Potential Temperature ProfilesAbstract
In this study we examined the applicability of the threshold, curvature, maximum angle, and relative variance methods for identifying the oceanic bottom mixed layer (BML) thickness 
Abstract
In this study we examined the applicability of the threshold, curvature, maximum angle, and relative variance methods for identifying the oceanic bottom mixed layer (BML) thickness
Abstract
Flow speed past the measuring probe is definitely needed for the estimation of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates ε and temperature dissipation rates χ based on the Taylor frozen hypothesis. This speed is usually measured with current instruments. Occasional failed work of these instruments may lead to unsuccessful speed measurement. For example, low concentration of suspended particles in water could make the observed speed invalid when using acoustic measuring instruments. In this study, we propose an alternative approach for quantifying the flow speeds by only using the microstructure shear or temperature data, according to the spectral theories of the inertial and dissipation subranges. A dataset of the microstructure profiler, VMP (vertical microstructure profiler), collected in the South China Sea (SCS) during 2017, is used to describe this approach, and the inferred speeds are compared with the actual passing-probe speeds, i.e., the falling speeds of the VMP. Probability density functions (PDFs) of the speed ratios, i.e., the ratios of the speeds respectively inferred from the inertial and dissipation subranges of the shear and temperature spectra to the actual speeds, follow the lognormal distribution, with corresponding mean values of 1.32, 1.03, 1.56, and 1.43, respectively. This result indicates that the present approach for quantifying the flow speeds is valid, and the speeds inferred from the dissipation subrange of shear spectrum agree much better with the actual ones than those from the inertial subrange of shear spectrum and the inertial and dissipation subranges of temperature spectrum. The present approach may be complementary and useful in the evaluation of turbulent mixing when the directly observed speeds are unavailable.
Abstract
Flow speed past the measuring probe is definitely needed for the estimation of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates ε and temperature dissipation rates χ based on the Taylor frozen hypothesis. This speed is usually measured with current instruments. Occasional failed work of these instruments may lead to unsuccessful speed measurement. For example, low concentration of suspended particles in water could make the observed speed invalid when using acoustic measuring instruments. In this study, we propose an alternative approach for quantifying the flow speeds by only using the microstructure shear or temperature data, according to the spectral theories of the inertial and dissipation subranges. A dataset of the microstructure profiler, VMP (vertical microstructure profiler), collected in the South China Sea (SCS) during 2017, is used to describe this approach, and the inferred speeds are compared with the actual passing-probe speeds, i.e., the falling speeds of the VMP. Probability density functions (PDFs) of the speed ratios, i.e., the ratios of the speeds respectively inferred from the inertial and dissipation subranges of the shear and temperature spectra to the actual speeds, follow the lognormal distribution, with corresponding mean values of 1.32, 1.03, 1.56, and 1.43, respectively. This result indicates that the present approach for quantifying the flow speeds is valid, and the speeds inferred from the dissipation subrange of shear spectrum agree much better with the actual ones than those from the inertial subrange of shear spectrum and the inertial and dissipation subranges of temperature spectrum. The present approach may be complementary and useful in the evaluation of turbulent mixing when the directly observed speeds are unavailable.
