Abstract
The processes of mixing in the upper few metres of the ocean are poorly known and largely unqualified1 but are a vital element in ocean–atmosphere interaction, playing a key part in the transfer and dispersion of heat, gases and nutrients. Here we report results from a towed instrument used to measure simultaneously water temperature and the sound scattered from bubble clouds produced by breaking waves. Dominant features in the records are correlated, intense sound scattering (or bubble clouds) being associated with warmer water and large positive temperature gradients with the onset of increased scattering. The observations provide a more complete picture of the structure and nature of bubble clouds and establish their assocition with dynamical processes of turbulent diffusion in the upper ocean boundary layer.
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References
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Thorpe, S., Hall, A. Bubble clouds and temperature anomalies in the upper ocean. Nature 328, 48–51 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/328048a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/328048a0
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