Introduction

Objectives

The objectives of the experiment are to address two sets of questions:

1. What are the mechanisms by which nonlinearities in the equation of state work to break down the stratification of the Weddell Sea near Maud Rise? What are the relative roles of thermobaricity, cabbeling, and other NES issues? We will address these questions through detailed measurements of the small scale mixing processes in the upper ocean near Maud Rise and high resolution modeling of these processes. The goal is to produce parameterizations suitable for larger scale numerical models.
2. How do the ocean circulation, ice and atmospheric forcing act to modulate and localize these processes? We will address this question by measuring the regional circulation and its variability near Maud Rise and by regional modeling of this circulation which incorporates the mixing parameterizations.