Microstructure observations during the spring 2011 STRATIPHYT-II cruise in the northeast Atlantic

Small-scale temperature and conductivity variations have been measured in the upper 100 m of the northeast Atlantic during the STRATIPHYT-II cruise (Las Palmas-Reykjavik, 6 April-3 May 2011). The measurements were done at midday and comprised 2 to 15 vertical profiles at each station. The derived turbulent quantities show a transition between weakly-stratified (mixed layer depth, MLD, 100), which was centered at about 48°N. The temperature eddy diffusivities, K T, range from 10 -5 to 100 m 2 s -1 in the weakly-stratified stations, and range from 3 × 10 -4 to 2 × 100 m 2 s -1 in the well-mixed stations. The turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates, ο, range from 3 × 10 -8 to 2 × 10 -6 m 2 s -3 south of the transition zone, and from 10 -7 to 10 -5 m 2 s -3 north of the transition zone. The station-averaged K T values throughout the mixed layer increase exponentially with the wind speed. The station-averaged ο values throughout the mixed layer scale with the wind stress similarity variable with a scaling factor of about 1.8 in the wind-dominated stations (epsilon approx; 1.8 ≈ 3(-κz)). The values of K T and ο are on average 10 times higher compared to the values measured at the same stations in July 2009. The results presented here constitute a unique data set giving large spatial coverage of upper ocean spring turbulence quantities. © 2012 Author(s)