The Three-dimensional Temperature Distribution and its Variation in Time 145 



Spitzbergen is particularly noticeable. This warm zone is associated with the Gulf 

 Stream. There are negative anomalies showing the advection of polar water in the 

 east Greenland Sea and the Labrador Sea down to Newfoundland. The Moroccan 

 and the south-west African areas of upwelling water also show negative anomalies, 

 and the eastern side of the Atlantic south of 35° N. is colder than the west side. A 

 similar phenomenon also appears in the South Atlantic. The Pacific generally shows 

 a similar subidi vision, with the western half decidedly warmer and the eastern half 

 too cold. 



12 IS 20 24 4 



12 16 20 24" 4 



20 24" 4. 8 12" 16 20 24 4 6 12 



\ \ v \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 



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Fig. 61. Thermograph recordings made passing through the subtropical and antarctic con- 

 vergences (according to Deacon). 



{b) Horizontal Temperature Distribution at Different Depths and Vertical Temperature 

 Sections 



The horizontal temperature distribution remains similar to that at the surface down 

 to a depth of at the most 50-75 m and then changes rapidly. It was already shown in 

 Table 48 that the thickness of the top layer {disturbance layer) is least in the equa- 

 torial areas and this is where the cold water masses of the subtroposphere come 

 closest to the surface. It is thus to be expected that horizontal temperature charts, 

 even for shallow depths, will show a band of cold water embedded between the warm- 

 water masses of the subtropics which becomes greater in width with increasing depths. 

 This can be seen on horizontal temperature charts at 200 m intervals both for the 

 Atlantic and also on charts for the other oceans. The subtropical warm-water areas 

 of both hemispheres are thus separated by a cooler equatorial zone almost 30° wide 

 and are limited polewards by two cold-water areas in higher latitudes. In the layers 

 between 400 and 800 m the highest temperatures are always found on the western 

 side of the oceans, particularly in the Atlantic. This is a dynamic consequence of the 

 stationary distribution of the currents at these depths. 



The chart for a depth of 800 m shows already the asymmetry typical for the tem- 

 perature distribution in the deep layer of the Atlantic, which is due to the cold sub- 

 antarctic intermediate current in the south and to the influence of the Gulf Stream 

 and the inflow of Mediterranean warm water in the north. This asymmetry domi- 

 nates the temperature distribution down to depths of more than 3000 m. The influence 



