A multi-parameter extension of temperature/salinity diagram techniques for the analysis of non-isopycnal mixing

The technique of water mass analysis based on temperature-salinity curves is extended to more than three water masses (or water masses defined by temperature-salinity curves rather than points) by including one or more additional parameters and solving the equations of linear mixing without additional assumptions. The oceanographical significance of the result is studied by means of examples. It is shown that the method is particularly useful for investigations of mesoscale mixing as observed in frontal zones where interleaving and intrusions are commonly observed, and that it can be used for obtaining bulk estimates of the impact of non-isopycnal, small-scale mixing events on the mesoscale fields. Possible parameters are discussed and sources of errors reviewed. Examples are used to show that major nutrients can be used as parameters to detect non-isopycnal mixing although limitations in the historical data and low data accuracy lead to considerable error bounds at present. It is argued that introduction of continuous flow analysis techniques and continuous vertical profiling in marine chemistry will greatly improve the potential of the method.