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An analysis of the optical features of the near-bottom and bottom nepheloid layers in the area of the Scotian Rise

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Title An analysis of the optical features of the near-bottom and bottom nepheloid layers in the area of the Scotian Rise
Names Spinrad, Richard W. (creator)
Zaneveld, J. Ronald (creator)
Date Issued 1982-11-20 (iso8601)
Note Copyrighted by American Geophysical Union.
Abstract Profiles of light transmission versus depth have been studied in the region of the Scotian Rise of the
North Atlantic at bottom depths between 4900 and 5000 m. A component model has been developed
and consists of three components of transmission which can be combined to duplicate accurately any
given transmission profile. Two of the components are shown to be representative of several basic
phenomena: the particle concentration within a uniform flow and the separation of a benthic nepheloid
layer. In the case of a uniform flow it is the relative magnitudes of settling and eddy diffusion which
determine the shape of the transmission profile. Separation of the benthic nepheloid layer was inferred
to be caused by an occasional cross-slope velocity component. The physical interpretation of the third
component was ambiguous. Eulerian and Lagrangian transformations of the data show that benthic
'storms' that were detected at one location and time appeared nearly identical at a later time
downstream and that benthic 'storms' can be detected over a large distance. Distance and time scales
obtained from these transformations show the area of the Scotian Rise to be one characterized by
bottom 'storms' which keep their general form over periods of at least 2 weeks and for distances
traveled of at least 400 km.
Genre Article
Identifier Spinrad, R., and J. Zaneveld (1982), An analysis of the optical features of the near-bottom and bottom nepheloid layers in the area of the Scotian Rise, J. Geophys. Res., 87(C12), 9553-9561.

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