Lagrangian Measurements of Entrainment Flux in the Pacific Equatorial Cold Tongue

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

0241244 Lien The thermocline waters of the equatorial region are coupled to the "cold tongue" through turbulent processes that entrain and mix water between them. In the past, large-scale mooring arrays and remote sensing have provided estimates of other aspects of the heat budget except for this entrainment term. The PIs propose to measure this term through measurements made on Lagrangian floats deployed in the Pacific equatorial region. This will provide time series of turbulent entrainment fluxes. One goal of this research is to better understand how El Nino develops.