Transcript Chapter 6: Temperature, Salinity, and Density

Chapter 6
Temperature, Salinity, and Density
Physical oceanography
Instructor: Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu
Department of Earth Sciences
National Cheng Kung University
Last updated: 18 October 2003
Introduction
 Factors that influences S and T
• Heat fluxes, evaporation, rain fall, river in flow,
melting and freezing of sea ice
• Change S and T  change D  convection 
track water movement
• D = fn(horizontal pressure gradient, currents)
Definition of salinity
 The simplest level
• The amount of dissolved material [g] in sea water [kg]
not useful  the dissolved material is impossible to measure in practice
 Volatile material like gasses
 Chlorides are lost in the last stages of drying
• A dimensionless quantity without unit
• Fig 6.1: the need for accuracy
DS  34.60 to 34.80 parts per thousand  200 parts per million
 DS in the deep North Pacific is even smaller  20 parts per million
If we want to classify water with different salinity, we need definitions
and instruments accurate to about one part per million
 Notice that DT  10C, and T is easier to measure
Definition of salinity (cont.)
 A more complete definition (1902)
• Useful but difficult to use routinely
Total amount of solid materials in grams dissolved in one kilogram of
sea water when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the Br
and I replaced by Cl and all organic matter completely oxidized
 Salinity based on Chlorinity  chemical
• S = 0.03 + 1.805Cl
Cl:the mass of silver required to precipitate completely the halogens in
0.328 523 4kg of the sea-water sample
Three reasons
 The above definition was difficult to implement in practice
 S  Cl
 Simple and accurate measurement of Cl
• Refine (1966): S = 1.80655 Cl
Definition of salinity (cont.)
 Salinity based on Conductivity  electronic
• S = -0.08996 + 28.2929729R15 + 12.80832 R215 10.67869R315 + 5.98624R415 - 1.32311R515
• R15= C(S,15,0)/C(35,15,0)
C (S, 15 , 0): the conductivity of the sea-water sample at 15°C and
atmospheric pressure, having a salinity S derived from (6.4)
C (35 , 15 , 0) is the conductivity of standard "Copenhagen" sea water
• S = fn(R15) is not a new definition of S
• It gives chlorinity as a function of conductivity of
seawater relative to standard seawater
Definition of salinity (cont.)
 Practical Salinity Scale of 1978
• Spsu= 0.0080 - 0.1692 R1/215 + 25.3851 RT + 14.0941
R3/2T-7.0261 R2T + 2.7081 R5/2T + DS
RT = C(S, T, 0) / C(KCl, T,0)
DS = [(T - 15) / (1 + 0.0162(T - 15))] + 0.005 - 0.0056
R1/2T - 0.0066 RT - 0.0375 R3/2T + 0.636 R2T –
0.0144 R5/2T
2  S  42
C(S, T, 0): the conductivity of the sea-water sample at temperature T
and standard atmospheric pressure
C(KCl, T, 0): the conductivity of the standard KCl solution at
temperature T and standard atmospheric pressure
 The standard KCl solution contains 32.4356 grams of KCl in 1.000 000kg of solution
 An extension of (6.4) gives salinity at any pressure (Millero 1996)
All water samples with the same R have the same S
Definition of salinity (cont.)
 Comments
• Table 6.1 Major Constituents of Sea Water
The ratios of the various ions  fn(S, location) 
The various definitions of salinity work well
Except fresh water in estuaries
• Accuracy of measuring S =  0.003
Small variation in SiO2
• Normal standard water
Definition of Temperature
 Absolute temperature T
• Unit: K (Kelvin)
• The fundamental processes for defining T
The gas laws relating pressure to temperature of an ideal gas with
corrections for the density of the gas
The voltage noise of a resistance R
• Measurement of T using an absolute scale
Difficult, usually made by national standards laboratories
• Measurement of T using the interpolating device
In ocean: a platinum-resistance thermometer
 A loosely wound, strain-free, pure platinum wire, Resistance = fn(T)
 Calibration
Celsius: T[0C] = T[0K] - 273.15
Accuracy of measuring T =  0.001 0C
Geographical Distribution of Surface
Temperature and Salinity
 The distribution of T at the sea surface
• Zonal  fn(longitude)
• Fig 6.2: mean SST from report and AVHRR
Warmest water is near the equator, coldest water is near the poles
The deviations from zonal are small
Equatorward of 400, cooler waters tend to be on the eastern side of the
basin. North of this latitude, cooler waters tend to be on the western side
• Fig 6.3: SST anomaly and annual range
Anomaly < 1.50C except in the equatorial Pacific (30C)
Annual range:
 highest at mid-latitudes, especially on the western side of the ocean
 cold air blows off the continents in the winter
 In the tropics < 20C
Geographical Distribution of Surface
Temperature and Salinity (cont.)
 The distribution of S at the sea surface
• Zonal  fn(longitude)
• Fig 6.4: mean SSS
Mid-latitudes: the highest  evaporation
Equator: lower  raining
High-latitudes: lower  ice melting
• Fig 6.5:
S = fn(evaporation minus precipitation plus river input)
• The Atlantic is saltier than the Pacific
Fig 6.6
 More rivers flow into the Atlantic, but 0.32Sv water evaporated from the Atlantic does not
fall as rain on land. Instead, it is carried by winds into the Pacific
• Mean: 1.3<T = 3.5<3.8 (0C), 34.6<S = 34.7<34.8 (psu)
Half of the waters is in the range
The Oceanic Mixed Layer and
Thermocline
 Wind blowing  stirs  a thin mixed
layer
• Mixed layer (ML)
S and T are both constants within ML
ML  10 – 200 m
 Variation of mixed layer depth (MLD)
• Response to two processes
Heat fluxes   contrast of D   work needed for mixing
the layer downward 
Wind speed   intensity of breaking waves  
turbulence   downward mixing 
The Oceanic Mixed Layer and
Thermocline (cont.)
 Thermocline and Pycnocline
• Fig 6.7: Seasonal variation of ML and thermocline
• D is related to T  Thermocline  Pycnocline
 Permanent thermocline
• Fig 6.8:
• Compare S of ML and thermocline
Mid-latitudes (100 – 400): evaporation > precipitation  saltier ML
High-latitudes: rain and melting ice  fresher ML
Tropical regions: rain  fresher ML
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density
 Trace the movement of water parcel
• Need to compare r, but Change P  change r
 Density and st
• Measurement of absolute density of water
Difficult, only measured in lab
The best accuracy is 1: 2.5 × 105 = 4 parts per million
• Calculation of density
From in situ measurements of S, T, P
The best accuracy is 2 parts per million
• Density anomaly
s(S, T, P) = r(S, T, P) - 1000kg/m3
 st(S, T, P)  s(S, T, 0)
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
 Potential temperature q
• Definition
The temperature of a parcel of water at the sea surface
after it has been raised adiabatically from some depth in the
ocean
Raising the parcel adiabatically means that it is raised in an
insulated container so it does not exchange heat with its
surroundings
q is calculated
• Fig 6.9: profiles of T, q, st, sq
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
 Potential density
• Definition
The density a parcel of water would have if it were raised
adiabatically to the surface without change in salinity
• sq = s(s, q, 0)
Same q at the same depth might have different coefficient
for thermal and salt expansion  sq is not useful for
comparing density of water at great depths
Fig 6.10: apparent inversion of density
• sq = s(s, q, p, pr)
Not fully solve the problem  small discontinuity
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
 Neutral density (Eden & Willobrand, 1999)
• Neutral path
A parcel of water moves along a path of constant potential density sr
referenced to the local depth r
• Neutral surface element
The surface tangent to the neutral paths through a point in the water
No work is required to move a parcel on this surface because there is no
buoyancy force acting on the parcel as it moves (if we ignore friction).
• A practical neutral density variable gn
Jackett and McDougall (1997)
Based on the Levitus (1982) atlas
gn = fn(S, t, p, longitude, latitude)
The neutral surface defined above differs only slightly from an ideal
neutral surface.
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
 Equation of state of sea water
• Relating s to T, S, and P
Derived by fitting curves through laboratory measurements
The equation has an accuracy of 10 parts per million, which is 0.01 units
of s(q)
The equation consists of three polynomials with 41 constants (JPOTS,
1991)
 Accuracy of T, S, and r
• For distinguish water masses  need an accuracy of a
few parts per million  need careful definition,
measurement, calibrated instruments and
internationally accepted standard
Processing of Oceanographic Station Data (JPOTS, 1991) (UNESCO)
Measurement of Temperature
 Mercury thermometer
• The most widely used, non-electronic thermometer
In buckets dropped over the side of a ship  T of surface waters
On Nansen bottles  subsea T
In the laboratory  calibrate other thermometers
• Accuracy: 0.0010C (with careful calibration)
• Reversing thermometer (Fig 6.11)
Constriction in the mercury capillary  break the thread of mercury
when the thermometer is turned upside down
Carried inside a glass tube  protects the thermometer from the
ocean’s pressure
Deployed in pair  protected and unprotected (Fig 6.11)
Pairs of reversing thermometers carried on Nansen bottles  the
primary source of subsea measurements of T = fn(P) (from 1900 to 1970)
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)
 Platinum Resistance Thermometer
• The standard of T  calibrate other instruments
 Thermistor (1970 –)
• A semiconductor having resistance that varies rapidly
and predictably with temperature
• Accuracy: 0.0010C (with careful calibration)
 Bucket T
• Measurement
Mercury thermometer in a bucket  lowered into the water
 sit at a depth for a few minutes  equilibrium  read
• Accuracy: 0.10C
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)
 Ship Injection T
• The temperature of the water drawn into the ship to
cool the engines  recorded routinely for decades
• Error source: warmed before record
• Accuracy: 0.50 – 10C
 AVHRR
•
•
•
•
•
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
NOAA Tiro-N since 1978
Original design  measure cloud T, height
Sufficient accuracy and precision  measure SST
Sensor description and missions  AVHRR
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)
 Sources of error using AVHRR
• Unresolved or undetected clouds
Thin clouds such as low stratus and high cirrus  impossible to detect
Clouds smaller in diameter than 1 km, such as trade-wind cumuli
 Special techniques have been developed for detecting small clouds (Fig 6.12)
• Water vapor
Absorb part of the energy  SST
Different influences in channels 10.8 and 12.0 µm  reduce the error
• Aerosols
Absorb infrared radiation  SST
 Stratospheric aerosols generated by volcanic eruptions
 Dust particles carried over the Atlantic from Saharan dust storms  a few 0C 
• Skin temperature errors
Reduced when used to interpolate between ship measurements of SST
Measurement of Conductivity
 A conductivity cell (Fig 6.13)
• Platinum electrodes
• Voltage difference  current
• Current = fn(conductivity, voltage, volume of
seawater)
• Given voltage and the volume of seawater 
Current = fn(conductivity) = fn(S)
Best accuracy of S from conductivity = 0.005 psu
Best accuracy of S from titration = 0.02 psu
Measurement of Pressure
 Unit
• SI unit  Pa
• Oceanography  dbar
1 dbar = 104 Pa
1 dbar pressure = 1 meter depth
 Strain gage
• The simplest and cheapest way
• Accuracy = 1%
Measurement of Pressure (cont.)
 Vibration
• Setup
A vibrating tungsten wire stretched in a magnetic field
between diaphragms closing the ends of a cylinder
• Principle
Pressure  diaphragm  wire tension  wire frequency
 voltage
• Accuracy = 0.1%
Better when T is controlled
Precision is 100 – 1000 times better than accuracy
Measurement of Pressure (cont.)
 Quartz crystal
• The natural frequency of a quartz crystal
cut for minimum temperature dependence
• Accuracy
The best when T is held constant
 The accuracy is ±0.015%, and precision is ±0.001% of full-scale values
 Quartz Bourdon Gage
• Has accuracy and stability comparable to
quartz crystals
Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth
 Bathythermograph (BT)
• A mechanical device
• Measure T = T(z), MLD before 1970
 Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT)
• An electronic device for measure T = T(z)
A thermistor on a free-falling streamlined weight
Falling velocity = constant
Accuracy




Depth accuracy = ±2%
Temperature accuracy = ±0.1◦C
Vertical resolution = 65 cm
Range = 200 m to 1830 m depth
The most widely used instrument (65,000/year)
Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth (cont.)
 Nansen Bottles (Fig 6.16)
• Hydrographic stations
Measure water properties from the surface to some depth, or to the
bottom, using instruments lowered from a ship
• Measurement
Usually 20 bottles were attached at intervals of a few tens to hundreds
of meters to a wire lowered over the side of the ship
T  a protected reversing thermometer along with an unprotected
reversing thermometer
S  determined by laboratory analysis of water sample
A lead weight was dropped down the wire  tripped a mechanism on
each bottle  the bottle flipped over  reversing the thermometers 
shutting the valves  trapping water in the tube  releasing another
weight
The deployment and retrieval typically took several hours
Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth (cont.)
 CTD
• Replacement of Nansen bottles from 1960s
• An electronic instrument
• Measure C, T, D
C  induction
T  thermistor
D  P  quartz crystal
• Accuracy: Table 6.2
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light
 Significance of Light
 Transmission of Light in the seawater
• Index of refraction n = 1.33
• Reflectivity = (n – 1)2 / (n + 1)2
 Attenuation of light
• dI / dx = -c I  I2 = I1exp(-cx)
• Fig 6.17: c(l)
 Radiance
• The power per unit area per solid angle (W m-2 Sr-1)
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light (cont.)
 Water color
• Jerlov’s classification (Fig 6.18)
Type I water  the clearest water  10% light to 90m
 e.g. Kuroshio (black water)
Type II, III water  chlorophyll dominate  blue-green
 More turbid tropical and mid-latitude waters
 Can be seen from space  remote sensing of ocean color
 Fig 6.19
Type 1 – 9 waters  coastal water
 Turbid, optically complex water
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light (cont.)
 Absorption
•
•
•
•
Water
Chlorophyll
CDOM
Others
 CZCS algorithm
 SeaWiFS mission
 MODIS
Important Concepts
• Density in the ocean is determined by temperature,
salinity, and pressure.
• Density changes in the ocean are very small, and
studies of water masses and currents require density
with an accuracy of 10 parts per million.
• Density is not measured, it is calculated from
measurements of temperature, salinity, and pressure
using the equation of state of sea water.
• Accurate calculations of density require accurate
definitions of temperature and salinity and an
accurate equation of state.
Important Concepts (cont.)
• Salinity is difficult to define and to measure. To avoid
the difficulty, oceanographers use conductivity
instead of salinity. They measure conductivity and
calculate density from temperature, conductivity, and
pressure.
• A mixed layer of constant temperature and salinity is
usually found in the top 1–100m of the ocean. The
depth is determined by wind speed and the flux of
heat through the sea surface.
• To compare temperature and density of water masses
at different depths in the ocean, oceanographers use
potential temperature and potential density which
remove most of the influence of pressure on density.
Important Concepts (cont.)
• Water parcels below the mixed layer move
along neutral surfaces.
• Surface temperature of the ocean was usually
measured at sea using bucket or injection
temperatures. Global maps of temperature
combine these observations with observations
of infrared radiance from the sea surface
measured by an AVHRR in space.
Important Concepts (cont.)
• Temperature and conductivity are usually measured
digitally as a function of pressure using a CTD.
Before 1960–1970 the salinity and temperature were
measured at roughly 20 depths using Nansen bottles
lowered on a line from a ship. The bottles carried
reversing thermometers which recorded temperature
and depth and they returned a water sample from
that depth which was used to determine salinity on
board the ship.
• Light is rapidly absorbed in the ocean. 95% of
sunlight is absorbed in the upper 100m of the clearest
sea water. Sunlight rarely penetrates deeper than a
few meters in turbid coastal waters
Important Concepts (cont.)
• Phytoplankton change the color of sea water,
and the change in color can be observed from
space. Water color is used to measure
phytoplankton concentration from space.