On the Effect of a Surface Density Front on the Interior Structure of the Ventilated Ocean Thermocline

This study analyzes the response of t he ocean thermocline to a density front at the sea sur face. A set of comput at ions has been carrie d out, solving the thermocline structure that results from a sur face density front and analyzing the behavior of the solut ion as t he location of the front at the seasur face varies in the meridional direction. Infact, though theoret ical studies often assumes a constant SSD (Sea Sur face Density) gradient, a recent observat ional study (Raffaele and Rudn ick, 2000) suggests that much of the sur face density variat ion, even on large scales, is gat hered into frontal gradients.