Abstract
Hypotheses concerning the origin of thermohaline staircases in salt
fingering regions are reviewed and assessed. One such hypothesis,
that staircases arise from thermohaline intrusions, is developed
into a quantitative theory. It is shown that growing intrusions evolve
toward staircases when the background density ratio lies below a
threshold value, and nonlinear computations confirm that staircases
are viable intrusion equilibria. Staircase properties such as step
heights, lateral density ratios, and layer slopes lie closest to
observed values when salt fingers are assumed not to contribute to
shear stress and when turbulent mixing rates are smaller than usual
thermocline values.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).