Estimates of entrainment in the Denmark Strait overflow plume from CTD/LADCP data

Abstract

The data of the CTD survey conducted in the Denmark Strait and Irminger Sea in May–June 2009 are used to calculate the vertical profiles of the turbulent overturning scale, which are then used to estimate the dissipation and entrainment rates in the overflow plume. The resulting estimates of the entrainment rate varied widely from 2 × 10^–7 to 7 × 10^–3 m/s. It is shown that such a wide range of entrainment rates is caused by the intermittency of turbulence. Large turbulent overturning at the interface of the Denmark Strait overflow plume is detected on the vertical temperature, salinity, and potential density profiles.