#mimoc

[mhoecker]

Map of the strongest stratification found in the water column.  Vertical mixing is easiest in regions where stratification is weak.  The dependence on season is strongest in polar regions, especially regions associated with deep convection in the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean.

Companion to the previous post

[mhoecker]

Depth of the pycnocline extracted from the MIMOC http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/mimoc/ data set.  You can see the seasonal oscillation between deep convection and shallow stratification in the polar regions.  Also visible is the persistent pool of warm water in the West Pacific in contrast to the shallow stratification near the strong upwelling off the west coast of South America.