CLIMATOLOGY - MEAN SEASONAL CYCLE
In addition to the bimonthly mean temperature and salinity sections,
the bimonthly mean of several indices of the thermal structure
were also calculated. The chosen indices are :
- the Sea Surface Temperature ( SST ), in degrees Celsius
.
- the Depth of the 20 degrees isotherm ( D20
), in meters.
- the Dynamic Height 0/400 and 0/700, ( DHT ), in Dynamic Centimeters.
- the Transport Function 0/400 and 0/700
(Q), or the depth integrated Dynamic Height, in m^3/s^2.
- the Total Transport 0/400 and 0/700, in Sverdrups .
The Total Transport was calculated in a cumulative way, from South to North, in the
Southern hemishpere, and from North to South, in the Northern hemisphere.
The results
are presented as Hovmoller diagrams and in Tables .
In both the climatology tables, and the Hovmoller diagrams, the bimonthly
values are centered on the first day of the second month. That is, the
value for J/F is centered on the first of February, the value for F/M is
centered on the first of March, and so on.
When calculating dynamic height ( close to the continental shelf
), the bottom topography was taken
into account, by replacing the temperature and salinity values below
the bottom depth, and above the reference depth, with the temperature and
salinity values in the nearest adjacent water at each level. This gives
a horizontal density gradient and vertical shear of zero, at depths greater
than the bottom.