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Mass, heat and freshwater fluxes in the South Indian OceanSix hydrographic sections were used to examine the circulation and property fluxes in the South Indian Ocean from 10 to 32 deg S. The calculations were made by applying an inverse method to the data. In the interior of the South Indian Ocean, the geostrophic flow is generally northward. At 18 deg S, the northward interior mass flux is balanced by the southward Ekman mass flux at the surface, whereas at 32 deg S the northward interior mass flux is balanced by the southward mass flux of the Agulhas Current. There is a weak, southward mass flux of 6 x 10 to the 9th kg/s in the Mozambique Channel. The rate of water exchange between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean is dependent on the choice of the initial reference level used in the inverse calculation. The choice of 1500 m, the depth of the deep oxygen minimum, has led to a flux of water from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean at a rate of 6.6 x 10 to the 9th kg/s. Heat flux calculations indicate that the Indian Ocean is exporting heat to the rest of the world's oceans at a rate of -0.69 x 10 to the 15th W at 18 deg S and -0.25 x 10 to the 15th W at 32 deg S (negative values being southward).
Document ID
19870053663
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Fu, Lee-Lueng
(California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 1986
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Physical Oceanography
Volume: 16
ISSN: 0022-3670
Subject Category
Oceanography
Accession Number
87A40937
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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