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Aspects of Bottom Boundary Layers in the Ocean

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Structure and Development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge

Part of the book series: Nato Conference Series ((MARS,volume 8))

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Abstract

The dynamics of the “bottom” boundary layer in the ocean is influenced by the rotation of the earth, the mean oceanic circulation being in approximate geostrophic balance. An Ekman boundary layer is developed to match the interior flow, in which the velocity vector changes direction towards the bottom. Seen from above the change is clockwise in the northern hemisphere. Based on a Reynolds number criterion, the oceanic Ekman boundary layer is turbulent, the typical Reynolds number being at least an order of magnitude larger than the critical one (Wimbush and Munk 1971). However, the stability of the density stratification also influences the dynamics of the boundary layer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inst, of Physical Oceanography, University of Copenhagen, Haraldsg.6, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Gunnar Kullenberg

  2. School of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    Ronald Zaneveld

Authors
  1. Gunnar Kullenberg
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  2. Ronald Zaneveld
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Durham, Durham, UK

    Martin H. P. Bott

  2. Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Svend Saxov

  3. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USA

    Manik Talwani

  4. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Jörn Thiede

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© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Kullenberg, G., Zaneveld, R. (1983). Aspects of Bottom Boundary Layers in the Ocean. In: Bott, M.H.P., Saxov, S., Talwani, M., Thiede, J. (eds) Structure and Development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Nato Conference Series, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3485-9_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3485-9_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3487-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3485-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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