Chapter 6

Temperature, Salinity, and Density

Physical oceanography
Instructor: Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu
Department of Earth Sciences
National Cheng Kung University

Last updated: 18 October 2003

 Introduction

Factors that influences S and T

Heat fluxes, evaporation, rain fall, river in
flow, melting and freezing of sea ice
Change S and T change D convection
track water movement
D = fn(horizontal pressure gradient, currents)
 Definition of salinity

The simplest level

The amount of dissolved material [g] in sea water [kg]
not useful the dissolved material is impossible to measure in practice
Volatile material like gasses
Chlorides are lost in the last stages of drying

A dimensionless quantity without unit

Fig 6.1: the need for accuracy
S 34.60 to 34.80 parts per thousand 200 parts per million
S in the deep North Pacific is even smaller 20 parts per million
If we want to classify water with different salinity, we need definitions
and instruments accurate to about one part per million
Notice that T 10C, and T is easier to measure
 Definition of salinity (cont.)

A more complete definition (1902)

Useful but difficult to use routinely
Total amount of solid materials in grams dissolved in one kilogram of
sea water when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the Br
and I replaced by Cl and all organic matter completely oxidized

Salinity based on Chlorinity chemical

S = 0.03 + 1.805Cl
Cl:the mass of silver required to precipitate completely the halogens in
0.328 523 4kg of the sea-water sample
Three reasons
The above definition was difficult to implement in practice
S Cl
Simple and accurate measurement of Cl

Refine (1966): S = 1.80655 Cl

 Definition of salinity (cont.)

Salinity based on Conductivity electronic

S = -0.08996 + 28.2929729R15 + 12.80832 R215 -
10.67869R315 + 5.98624R415 - 1.32311R515
R15= C(S,15,0)/C(35,15,0)
C (S, 15 , 0): the conductivity of the sea-water sample at 15C and
atmospheric pressure, having a salinity S derived from (6.4)
C (35 , 15 , 0) is the conductivity of standard "Copenhagen" sea water

S = fn(R15) is not a new definition of S

It gives chlorinity as a function of conductivity of
seawater relative to standard seawater
 Definition of salinity (cont.)

Practical Salinity Scale of 1978

Spsu= 0.0080 - 0.1692 R1/215 + 25.3851 RT + 14.0941
R3/2T-7.0261 R2T + 2.7081 R5/2T + S
RT = C(S, T, 0) / C(KCl, T,0)
S = [(T - 15) / (1 + 0.0162(T - 15))] + 0.005 - 0.0056
R1/2T - 0.0066 RT - 0.0375 R3/2T + 0.636 R2T
0.0144 R5/2T
2 S 42
C(S, T, 0): the conductivity of the sea-water sample at temperature T and
standard atmospheric pressure
C(KCl, T, 0): the conductivity of the standard KCl solution at temperature T
and standard atmospheric pressure
The standard KCl solution contains 32.4356 grams of KCl in 1.000 000kg of solution
An extension of (6.4) gives salinity at any pressure (Millero 1996)
All water samples with the same RT have the same S
 Definition of salinity (cont.)

Comments
Table 6.1 Major Constituents of Sea Water
The ratios of the various ions fn(S, location)
The various definitions of salinity work well
Except fresh water in estuaries
Accuracy of measuring S = 0.003
Small variation in SiO2
Normal standard water
 Definition of Temperature

Absolute temperature T
Unit: K (Kelvin)
The fundamental processes for defining T
The gas laws relating pressure to temperature of an ideal gas with
corrections for the density of the gas
The voltage noise of a resistance R
Measurement of T using an absolute scale
Difficult, usually made by national standards laboratories
Measurement of T using the interpolating device
In ocean: a platinum-resistance thermometer
A loosely wound, strain-free, pure platinum wire, Resistance = fn(T)
Calibration
Celsius: T[0C] = T[0K] - 273.15
Accuracy of measuring T = 0.001 0C
Geographical Distribution of Surface
Temperature and Salinity
The distribution of T at the sea surface
Zonal fn(longitude)
Fig 6.2: mean SST from report and AVHRR
Warmest water is near the equator, coldest water is near the poles
The deviations from zonal are small
Equatorward of 400, cooler waters tend to be on the eastern side of the
basin. North of this latitude, cooler waters tend to be on the western side
Fig 6.3: SST anomaly and annual range
Anomaly < 1.50C except in the equatorial Pacific (30C)
Annual range:
highest at mid-latitudes, especially on the western side of the ocean
cold air blows off the continents in the winter
In the tropics < 20C
Geographical Distribution of Surface
Temperature and Salinity (cont.)
The distribution of S at the sea surface
Zonal fn(longitude)
Fig 6.4: mean SSS
Mid-latitudes: the highest evaporation
Equator: lower raining
High-latitudes: lower ice melting
Fig 6.5:
S = fn(evaporation minus precipitation plus river input)
The Atlantic is saltier than the Pacific
Fig 6.6
More rivers flow into the Atlantic, but 0.32Sv water evaporated from the Atlantic does not fall
as rain on land. Instead, it is carried by winds into the Pacific

Mean: 1.3<T = 3.5<3.8 (0C), 34.6<S = 34.7<34.8 (psu)

Half of the waters is in the range
 The Oceanic Mixed Layer and
Thermocline
Wind blowing stirs a thin mixed
layer
Mixed layer (ML)
S and T are both constants within ML
ML 10 200 m

Variation of mixed layer depth (MLD)

Response to two processes
Heat fluxes contrast of D work needed for mixing
the layer downward
Wind speed intensity of breaking waves
turbulence downward mixing
 The Oceanic Mixed Layer and
Thermocline (cont.)
Thermocline and
Pycnocline
Fig 6.7: Seasonal variation of ML and thermocline
D is related to T Thermocline Pycnocline
Permanent thermocline
Fig 6.8:
Compare S of ML and thermocline
Mid-latitudes (100 400): evaporation > precipitation saltier ML
High-latitudes: rain and melting ice fresher ML
Tropical regions: rain fresher ML
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density
Trace the movement of water parcel
Need to compare , but Change P change
Density and t
Measurement of absolute density of water
Difficult, only measured in lab
The best accuracy is 1: 2.5 105 = 4 parts per million
Calculation of density
From in situ measurements of S, T, P
The best accuracy is 2 parts per million
Density anomaly
(S, T, P) = (S, T, P) - 1000kg/m3
t(S, T, P) (S, T, 0)
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
Potential temperature
Definition
The temperature of a parcel of water at the sea surface
after it has been raised adiabatically from some depth in the
ocean
Raising the parcel adiabatically means that it is raised in an
insulated container so it does not exchange heat with its
surroundings
is calculated
Fig 6.9: profiles of T, t
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
Potential density
Definition
The density a parcel of water would have if it were raised
adiabatically to the surface without change in salinity
= (s, , 0)
Same at the same depth might have different coefficient
for thermal and salt expansion is not useful for
comparing density of water at great depths
Fig 6.10: apparent inversion of density
= (s, , p, pr)
Not fully solve the problem small discontinuity
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
Neutral density (Eden & Willobrand, 1999)
Neutral path
A parcel of water moves along a path of constant potential density r
referenced to the local depth r
Neutral surface element
The surface tangent to the neutral paths through a point in the water
No work is required to move a parcel on this surface because there is no
buoyancy force acting on the parcel as it moves (if we ignore friction).
A practical neutral density variable n
Jackett and McDougall (1997)
Based on the Levitus (1982) atlas
n = fn(S, t, p, longitude, latitude)
The neutral surface defined above differs only slightly from an ideal
neutral surface.
Density, Potential Temperature, and
Neutral Density (cont.)
Equation of state of sea water
Relating to T, S, and P
Derived by fitting curves through laboratory measurements
The equation has an accuracy of 10 parts per million, which is 0.01
units of ( )
The equation consists of three polynomials with 41 constants (JPOTS,
1991)

Accuracy of T, S, and
For distinguish water masses need an accuracy of a
few parts per million need careful definition,
measurement, calibrated instruments and
internationally accepted standard
Processing of Oceanographic Station Data (JPOTS, 1991) (UNESCO)
 Measurement of Temperature

Mercury thermometer
The most widely used, non-electronic thermometer
In buckets dropped over the side of a ship T of surface waters
On Nansen bottles subsea T
In the laboratory calibrate other thermometers
Accuracy: 0.0010C (with careful calibration)
Reversing thermometer (Fig 6.11)
Constriction in the mercury capillary break the thread of mercury
when the thermometer is turned upside down
Carried inside a glass tube protects the thermometer from the
oceans pressure
Deployed in pair protected and unprotected (Fig 6.11)
Pairs of reversing thermometers carried on Nansen bottles the
primary source of subsea measurements of T = fn(P) (from 1900 to 1970)
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)

Platinum Resistance Thermometer

The standard of T calibrate other instruments
Thermistor (1970 )
A semiconductor having resistance that varies rapidly
and predictably with temperature
Accuracy: 0.0010C (with careful calibration)
Bucket T
Measurement
Mercury thermometer in a bucket lowered into the water
sit at a depth for a few minutes equilibrium read
Accuracy: 0.10C
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)

Ship Injection T
The temperature of the water drawn into the ship to
cool the engines recorded routinely for decades
Error source: warmed before record
Accuracy: 0.50 10C
AVHRR
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
NOAA Tiro-N since 1978
Original design measure cloud T, height
Sufficient accuracy and precision measure SST
Sensor description and missions AVHRR
Measurement of Temperature (cont.)

Sources of error using AVHRR

Unresolved or undetected clouds
Thin clouds such as low stratus and high cirrus impossible to detect
Clouds smaller in diameter than 1 km, such as trade-wind cumuli
Special techniques have been developed for detecting small clouds (Fig 6.12)

Water vapor
Absorb part of the energy SST
Different influences in channels 10.8 and 12.0 m reduce the error
Aerosols
Absorb infrared radiation SST
Stratospheric aerosols generated by volcanic eruptions
Dust particles carried over the Atlantic from Saharan dust storms a few 0C

Skin temperature errors

Reduced when used to interpolate between ship measurements of SST
 Measurement of Conductivity

A conductivity cell (Fig 6.13)

Platinum electrodes
Voltage difference current
Current = fn(conductivity, voltage, volume of
seawater)
Given voltage and the volume of seawater
Current = fn(conductivity) = fn(S)
Best accuracy of S from conductivity = 0.005 psu
Best accuracy of S from titration = 0.02 psu
 Measurement of Pressure

Unit
SI unit Pa
Oceanography dbar
1 dbar = 104 Pa
1 dbar pressure = 1 meter depth

Strain gage
The simplest and cheapest way
Accuracy = 1%
 Measurement of Pressure (cont.)

Vibration
Setup
A vibrating tungsten wire stretched in a magnetic field
between diaphragms closing the ends of a cylinder
Principle
Pressure diaphragm wire tension wire frequency
voltage
Accuracy = 0.1%
Better when T is controlled
Precision is 100 1000 times better than accuracy
 Measurement of Pressure (cont.)

Quartz crystal
The natural frequency of a quartz crystal
cut for minimum temperature dependence
Accuracy
The best when T is held constant
The accuracy is 0.015%, and precision is 0.001% of full-scale values

Quartz Bourdon Gage

Has accuracy and stability comparable to
quartz crystals
 Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth
Bathythermograph (BT)
A mechanical device
Measure T = T(z), MLD before 1970
Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT)
An electronic device for measure T = T(z)
A thermistor on a free-falling streamlined weight
Falling velocity = constant
Accuracy
Depth accuracy = 2%
Temperature accuracy = 0.1C
Vertical resolution = 65 cm
Range = 200 m to 1830 m depth
The most widely used instrument (65,000/year)
 Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth (cont.)
Nansen Bottles (Fig 6.16)
Hydrographic stations
Measure water properties from the surface to some depth, or to the
bottom, using instruments lowered from a ship
Measurement
Usually 20 bottles were attached at intervals of a few tens to hundreds
of meters to a wire lowered over the side of the ship
T a protected reversing thermometer along with an unprotected
reversing thermometer
S determined by laboratory analysis of water sample
A lead weight was dropped down the wire tripped a mechanism on
each bottle the bottle flipped over reversing the thermometers
shutting the valves trapping water in the tube releasing another
weight
The deployment and retrieval typically took several hours
 Measurement of Temperature and
Salinity with Depth (cont.)
CTD
Replacement of Nansen bottles from 1960s
An electronic instrument
Measure C, T, D
C induction
T thermistor
D P quartz crystal
Accuracy: Table 6.2
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light
Significance of Light
Transmission of Light in the seawater
Index of refraction n = 1.33
Reflectivity = (n 1)2 / (n + 1)2
Attenuation of light
dI / dx = -c I I2 = I1exp(-cx)
Fig 6.17: c( )
Radiance
The power per unit area per solid angle (W m-2 Sr-1)
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light (cont.)
Water color
Jerlovs classification (Fig 6.18)
Type I water the clearest water 10% light to 90m
e.g. Kuroshio (black water)
Type II, III water chlorophyll dominate blue-green
More turbid tropical and mid-latitude waters
Can be seen from space remote sensing of ocean color
Fig 6.19
Type 1 9 waters coastal water
Turbid, optically complex water
Light in the ocean and absorption of
light (cont.)
Absorption
Water
Chlorophyll
CDOM
Others
CZCS algorithm
SeaWiFS mission
MODIS
 Important Concepts

Density in the ocean is determined by temperature,

salinity, and pressure.
Density changes in the ocean are very small, and
studies of water masses and currents require density
with an accuracy of 10 parts per million.
Density is not measured, it is calculated from
measurements of temperature, salinity, and pressure
using the equation of state of sea water.
Accurate calculations of density require accurate
definitions of temperature and salinity and an
accurate equation of state.
 Important Concepts (cont.)

Salinity is difficult to define and to measure. To avoid

the difficulty, oceanographers use conductivity
instead of salinity. They measure conductivity and
calculate density from temperature, conductivity, and
pressure.
A mixed layer of constant temperature and salinity is
usually found in the top 1100m of the ocean. The
depth is determined by wind speed and the flux of
heat through the sea surface.
To compare temperature and density of water masses
at different depths in the ocean, oceanographers use
potential temperature and potential density which
remove most of the influence of pressure on density.
 Important Concepts (cont.)

Water parcels below the mixed layer move

along neutral surfaces.
Surface temperature of the ocean was usually
measured at sea using bucket or injection
temperatures. Global maps of temperature
combine these observations with observations
of infrared radiance from the sea surface
measured by an AVHRR in space.
 Important Concepts (cont.)

Temperature and conductivity are usually measured

digitally as a function of pressure using a CTD. Before
19601970 the salinity and temperature were
measured at roughly 20 depths using Nansen bottles
lowered on a line from a ship. The bottles carried
reversing thermometers which recorded temperature
and depth and they returned a water sample from
that depth which was used to determine salinity on
board the ship.
Light is rapidly absorbed in the ocean. 95% of
sunlight is absorbed in the upper 100m of the clearest
sea water. Sunlight rarely penetrates deeper than a
few meters in turbid coastal waters
 Important Concepts (cont.)

Phytoplankton change the color of sea water,

and the change in color can be observed from
space. Water color is used to measure
phytoplankton concentration from space.