Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-829-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-829-2025
Research article
 | 
22 Apr 2025
Research article |  | 22 Apr 2025

Dissipation ratio and eddy diffusivity of turbulent and salt finger mixing derived from microstructure measurements

Jianing Li, Qingxuan Yang, and Hui Sun

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Cited articles

Ashin, K., Girishkumar, M. S., D'Asaro, E., Jofia, J., Sherin, V. R., Sureshkumar, N., and Rao, E. P. R.: Observational evidence of salt finger in the diurnal thermocline, Sci. Rep., 13, 3627, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30564-5, 2023. 
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Cimoli, L., Caulfield, C. cille P., Johnson, H. L., Marshall, D. P., Mashayek, A., Naveira Garabato, A. C., and Vic, C.: Sensitivity of Deep Ocean Mixing to Local Internal Tide Breaking and Mixing Efficiency, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 14622–14633, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085056, 2019. 
Climate Process Team: Microstructure Database, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego [data set], http://microstructure.ucsd.edu (last access: 11 April 2025), 2016. 
Dillon, T. M.: Vertical overturns: A comparison of Thorpe and Ozmidov length scales, J. Geophys. Res., 87, 9601–9613, https://doi.org/10.1029/jc087ic12p09601, 1982. 
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Short summary
The Osborn relation is widely used to estimate the diapycnal mixing rate, but its accuracy is questioned due to the assumed constant dissipation ratio (Γ) without identifying mixing types. We identify a salt finger and turbulence in the western Pacific and midlatitude Atlantic, finding that Γ is highly variable and related to turbulence parameters, through which we improve mixing rate estimates. Identifying mixing types and refining Γ are necessary to improve mixing parameterization accuracy.
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