Circumpolar deep water

Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) is a designation given to the water mass in the Pacific and Indian oceans that essentially characterizes a mixing of other water masses in the region. A distinguishing characteristic is the water is not formed at the surface, but rather by a blending of other water masses, including the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), and the Pacific Intermediate Water Masses.

CDW is the greatest volume water mass in the SO, is a mixture of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), as well as recirculated deep water from the Indian and Pacific Oceans (e.g., Wüst 1935; Callahan 1972; Georgi 1981; Mantyla and Reid 1983; Charles and Fairbanks 1992;You 2000)

Because the Circumpolar Deep Water is a mix of other water masses, its TS profile is simply the point where the TS lines of the other water masses converge. TS diagrams refer to temperature and salinity profiles, which are one of the major ways water masses are distinguished from each other. The convergence of the TS lines thus proves the mixing of the other water masses. Circumpolar deep water is between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius and has a salinity between 34.62 and 34.73 practical salinity units. [1][2]

References

  1. Emery, WJ. "Water Types and Water Masses" (PDF). Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  2. AGUS SANTOSO AND MATTHEW H. ENGLAND, Circumpolar Deep Water Circulation and Variability in a Coupled Climate Model, 2005, JPO.
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