Feature of thermohaline circulation in two-layer conceptual model based on energy constraint
The assertion that the thermohaline circulation (THC) is driven and sustained by mechanical energy has been increasingly ac- cepted. The simplest conceptual model describing the THC is the Stommel two-box model. Given the vertical stratification in the real ocean, layered models were designed and us...
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Published in | Science China. Earth sciences Vol. 58; no. 8; pp. 1397 - 1403 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Beijing
Science China Press
01.08.2015
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The assertion that the thermohaline circulation (THC) is driven and sustained by mechanical energy has been increasingly ac- cepted. The simplest conceptual model describing the THC is the Stommel two-box model. Given the vertical stratification in the real ocean, layered models were designed and used. In this research, using a two-layer conceptual model based on energy constraint, we studied basic features of thermal-mode and saline-mode circulations. We focused on the effects of freshwater flux and mixing energy on the intensity and multiple equilibrium states of the THC. The results show that more important than affecting the THC intensity, both the decrease of freshwater flux and increase of mixing energy can lead to an "abrupt transi- tion" in the THC from a stable saline to a stable thermal mode, which further develops the THC energy theory. |
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Bibliography: | The assertion that the thermohaline circulation (THC) is driven and sustained by mechanical energy has been increasingly ac- cepted. The simplest conceptual model describing the THC is the Stommel two-box model. Given the vertical stratification in the real ocean, layered models were designed and used. In this research, using a two-layer conceptual model based on energy constraint, we studied basic features of thermal-mode and saline-mode circulations. We focused on the effects of freshwater flux and mixing energy on the intensity and multiple equilibrium states of the THC. The results show that more important than affecting the THC intensity, both the decrease of freshwater flux and increase of mixing energy can lead to an "abrupt transi- tion" in the THC from a stable saline to a stable thermal mode, which further develops the THC energy theory. thermohaline circulation; two-layer model; mixing energy; freshwater flux; equilibrium state 11-5843/P SHEN Yang & GUAN YuPing( l College of Science, Liaoning University of Technology, Jinzhou 121001, China; 2 State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510301, China) ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1674-7313 1869-1897 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11430-015-5092-8 |