Use of Tritium and Helium-3 for Oceanographic Processes Study. An Example: The Northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

摘要

These results are relative to the TOPOGULF cruise during summer 1983. The sampled area is located near the Azores Islands on the both sides of the mid-Atlantic ridge. The tritium content of the surface waters reveals a strong front along the Azores current. At depth, the spatial distribution of tritium is studied along isopycnals. In the thermocline, it is essentially the anticyclonic gyre which is responsible for the northeast - southwest gradient in tritium concentration. Some informations about the age of the water masses are given by the use of both tritium and Helium-3. By this way are identified some areas where ventilation processes are active. At middepth, a strong contrast exists between the young waters originating from the Labrador Sea and the more stagnant waters in the South East of the sampled area. (ERA citation 13:037793)