Description: The distribution of the main water masses in the Atlantic Ocean are investigated with the Optimal Multi-Parameter (OMP) method. The properties of the main water masses in the Atlantic Ocean are described in a companion article; here these definitions are used to map out the general distribution of those water masses. Six key properties, including conservative (potential temperature and salinity) and non-conservative (oxygen, silicate, phosphate and nitrate), are incorporated into the OMP analysis to determine the contribution of the water masses in the Atlantic Ocean based on the GLODAP v2 observational data. To facilitate the analysis the Atlantic Ocean is divided into four vertical layers based on potential density. Due to the high seasonal variability in the mixed layer, this layer is excluded from the analysis. Central waters are the main water masses in the upper/central layer, generally featuring high potential temperature and salinity and low nutrient concentrations and are easily distinguished from the intermediate water masses. In the intermediate layer, the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) from the south can be detected to ~30°N, whereas the Subarctic Intermediate Water (SAIW), having similarly low salinity to the AAIW flows from the north. Mediterranean Overflow Water (MOW) flows from the Strait of Gibraltar as a high salinity water. NADW dominates the deep and overflow layer both in the North and South Atlantic. In the bottom layer, AABW is the only natural water mass with high silicate signature spreading from the Antarctic to the North Atlantic. Due to the change of water mass properties, in this work we renamed to North East Antarctic Bottom Water NEABW north of the equator. Similarly, the distributions of Labrador Sea Water (LSW), Iceland Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW), and Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) forms upper and lower portion of NADW, respectively roughly south of the Grand Banks between ~50 and 66°N. In the far south the distributions of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) and Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) are of significance to understand the formation of the AABW.

Description: Transient tracer data (CFC-12 and SF6) from three oceanographic field campaigns to the Mauritanian Upwelling area conducted during winter, spring and summer from 2005 to 2007 is presented. The transient tracers are used to constrain a possible solution to the transient time distribution (TTD) along 18°N and to quantify the mean ages in vertical sections perpendicular to the coast. We found that an Inverse Gaussian distribution where the ratio of the moments δ and Γ equals 1.2 is a possible solution (δ/Γ=1.2) of the TTD. The transient tracers further show considerable under-saturation in the mixed layer during the winter and spring cruises that can only be maintained by mixing or upwelling by tracer-poor water from below the mixed layer. We use dissipation data from microstructure measurements and the tracer depth distribution to quantify the flux of tracers to the mixed layer by vertical diffusivity and wind data from the ship to quantify the air-sea flux. We then use the magnitude of the under-saturation in the mixed layer to estimate the advective upwelling velocity which is the balance the first two processes, in a steady state assumption. We find that the upwelling velocities range from less than 1 to 5.6×10-5ms-1 (〈0.8-4.8md-1), with generally higher values close to the coast, but with comparable upwelling velocities during spring and winter. During the summer cruise the transient tracers were close to equilibrium with the atmosphere, suggesting no upwelling. We have shown the use of CFC-12 and SF6 transient tracer data for calculating upwelling velocity, and found an overall uncertainty of roughly ±50%.

Description: Properties of seawater in the ocean are not uniformly distributed. Characteristics in different regions and depths are significantly different. Understanding of the distribution and variation of seawater plays an important role in investigating the thermohaline circulation of the world ocean or predicting climate changes. A body of seawater that originates in a particular area and shares a common formation history always has similar properties and such a water body is defined as a water mass. Source water type defines the properties of the original water mass in the formation area. The properties of water masses do not stay constant but change along the flow path due to biogeochemical changes and also due to the mixing with surrounding water masses so that the OMP method is required to investigate the distribution of water masses. The OMP method is to calculate the best components and fractions of more water masses by analyzing water properties (potential temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate nitrate and silicate in this study) and solving the equations of linear mixing without assumptions. With the applications of transient tracers (such as: CFC-12 and SF6), water masses can be labeled and their mean ages (consuming time during the pathway from formation area) are calculated. Combining the distributions and mean ages, the transport time and velocities of water masses can be estimated.