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PALACE floats give information both about the circulation and density
profiles. In this preliminary study , I will treat them as roving CTD
stations. The PALACE floats in the Labrador Sea were placed near the predicted
region of convection and were programmed to profile to a depth of 600 or 1500
meters. I have chosen 4 sample floats between
which profiled temperature and salinity to a depth of 1500
meters at 4 different times (see Figs. 13-14). This is a comparison between a profile at one
particular time and a 10-day average model profile. During convection, it would
be highly surprising for these two profiles to be very similar. However, the
temperature profiles at mid-depth seem to agree within .2 degrees Celsius with
the float data. The surface correlation is predictably much worse. It is
surprising to note that the January profiles are quite inconsistent although
this is closest to the initialization time. In previous hydrographic
comparisons, the deepening of the mixed layer in the model agreed very well
with the data. The discrepancy in the January profile may be due to the fact
that this is not a statistically stable comparison. A method of spatially
averaging many floats and model gridpoints may yield a better interpretation.
Next: Sea Surface Height
Up: Density Structure
Previous: Bravo Mooring
Jake Gebbie
2003-04-10