Ocean Mixing

The stratified ocean mixes episodically in small patches where energy is dissipated and density smoothed over scales of centimeters. The net effect of these countless events effects the shape of the ocean's thermocline, how heat is transported from the sea surface to the interior, and how dense bottom water is lifted into the global overturning circulation. This book explores the primary factors affecting mixing, beginning with the thermodynamics of seawater, how they vary in the ocean and how they depend on the physical properties of seawater. Turbulence and double diffusion are then discussed, which determines how mixing evolves and the different impacts it has on velocity, temperature, and salinity. It reviews insights from both laboratory studies and numerical modelling, emphasising the assumptions and limitations of these methods. This is an excellent reference for researchers and graduate students working to advance our understanding of mixing, including oceanographers, atmospheric scientists and limnologists.

1. Mixing and its role in the ocean; 2. Thermodynamics and seawater properties; 3. Turbulence; 4. Double diffusion; 5. Sampling mixing and its environment; 6. Internal waves and the vortical mode; 7. Interactions and dissipation of internal waves and the vortical mode; 8. Mixing in the stratified interior; Appendix.

Michael C. Gregg is an Emeritus Professor of Oceanography at the University of Washington. He is a leading expert on small-scale mixing processes and turbulence in the ocean, and has devoted his career to understanding these processes and how they impact larger-scale ocean dynamics. He was awarded the Henry Stommel Research Medal by the American Meteorological Society for his work on mixing and turbulence and is a fellow of the AGU, AMS and the AAAS.