The simultaneous use of tracers for oceans circulation studies

A method for the simultaneous use of tracers for oceanic circulation studies is developed. To permit the inclusion of tracers that are subject to biochemical transformation a simple model for photosynthesis, bacterial decomposition and chemical dissolution is formulated based on the use of Redfield ratios for the chemical compounds interaction. The finite difference analogue to the steady state tracer continuity equation, applied to the tracers chosen, leads to a set of simultaneous algebraic equations that in principle can be solved by matrix inversion methods. Two cases are considered: (1) The problem is indeterminate, which may be the case when too few tracers are available and/or some tracer equations are redundant. A solution is obtained by minimizing the transport vector; (2) The problem is incompatible, which may result from making use of many tracers. A solution is obtained by minimizing the errors in satisfying the tracer continuity equations. The method is applied to a 12-box model of the world oceans by considering the surface water, intermediate water, deep water and bottom water of the Arctic, Atlantic, Antarctic and Pacifichndian Oceans (with some simplification for the polar seas). Total dissolved inorgani