Diapycnal diffusivities from a tracer release experiment in the deep sea, integrated over 13 years

Abstract

A section across the Atlantic at 24°S recorded in March 2009, sampled a tracer plume released in the deep Brazil Basin 13 years earlier. The 1-D diffusion equation was used to model the vertical spread of the tracer, yielding a mean diapycnal diffusivity estimate of approximately 3 × 10−4 m2/s at 4 km depth. This estimate is similar to that found by surveys of the tracer plume made between 1996 and 2000, within four years of the tracer release and therefore provides strong evidence for the long-term stability of that result.