Your Objective

Use water and atmospheric conditions (above the surface ocean) data collected across different time periods from the North Pacific Ocean to identify patterns and study the interaction of various processes:

  1. Investigate seasonal wind and solar radiation patterns from Ocean Station Papa in the North Pacific Ocean (10 degrees south of the Irminger Array)
  2. Make predictions about how the interaction of surface ocean processes (wind and solar radiation) leads to changes in the temperature of the ocean at various depths.

Specify temperature depths to plot:

        

Show:


Data Tips

When the site loads, you are able to see the full dataset of wind, solar radiation and water temperature (at various depths) from the Irminger Sea Array. Specifically we are using Surface Met Data from the Surface buoy, and CTD data from Flaking Mooring B. You can interact with these data by:

What is the mixed layer depth?

This is the depth of mixing in the surface ocean that results in a consistent temperature profile across upper depths of the oceans. The mixed layer depth can be identified by looking for the depth range of the surface ocean where temperature is relatively constant (above the thermocline). This constant temperature indicates mixing processes.

The MLD is determined by physical processes such as wind and water density (controlled by temperature and salinity) at this site the major driver of water density is temperature during the winter months, while a combination of salinity and temperature drive water density during the summer months. Here we note that we are viewing these mixed layer dynamics as being a fairly simple function of mechanical wind mixing and energy transfer at the surface (we ignore the impact of salinity). There are other factors, but we are keeping it simple to enhance learning.

Questions for Thought

Orientation Questions
  • What oceanic or atmospheric variables can you investigate in these graphs?
  • Which of the variables shown here were collected in the ocean? Which were collected in the atmosphere?
  • Across what time periods are you able to observe oceanic or atmospheric variables in these graphs?
    • What is the first month and year there are data?
    • What is the last month and year there are data?
  • What is the overall range of wind speeds at this site? In the winter? In the summer? How about for solar irradiation?
Interpretation Questions
  • How do the range of parameters measured at this site differ from the other location that you examined in the "Exploration"?
  • What patterns did you observe for wind and solar radiation above the surface of the ocean at this site?
  • When did you see these changes or patterns?
  • How does temperature vary over time? How does temperature vary with depth? Are the patterns that you observe here consistent with your conceptual model?

Background Information

TBD

Dataset Information

TBD

Activity Citation: Eveleth, R., Lemkau, K., Miller, I., Smith, S., & Lichtenwalner, C. S. (2020). Seasonal Variability In The Mixed Layer. OOI Data Labs Collection.