The effect of short period variations of temperature and salinity on calculations in dynamic oceanography

Abstract

This paper is a discussion of possible discrepancies in computations of ocean currents (based on horizontal variations of dynamic topography calculated from arbitrary deep lying reference surfaces), because of time variations of temperature and salinity at fixed depths in the sea (illustrated for a 24-hour period at "Atlantis" Station 2639). The results contained herein, while based chiefly on information from the western North Atlantic, are of general applicability, since time variations of the same order of magnitude have been observed over extensive areas of the Atlantic ocean. In selecting material for analysis of dynamic situations in the region concerned, consideration has been given only to those favorably located stations from which the structural features could most conveniently be obtained for illustrating the points in question.