Surface Slicks and Near-Surface Variability: A Literature Review and some Measurements in the Gulf of Cadiz

摘要

Bands of smooth water, or 'Slicks' commonly occur on the sea surface. The size scale and orientation of arrays of slicks may be indicative of subsurface flows due to internal waves, Langmuir circulation, or fronts. Under summer conditions in the Gulf of Cadiz the sea temperature has been observed to exhibit sudden negative temperature spikes of 1.4 C at 4m depth on size scales of slicks. Slicks may indicate conditions of variability in air/sea interaction processes and near-surface sound transmission. (Author)