The scientists in the BATS program “string” together the kinds of temperature-depth plots you have just made to look at how the temperature of the upper ocean changes from season to season and year to year. We call this a countour plot. the red and orange colors represent warmer water, while the blues are cooler. The white line represents the depth the water column mixed to during the winter. “Can you tell by the temperature contours when a deep winter mixing occurs?” “How does the structure of the water column change in the summer?” “Is there a difference in the temperature structure and mixing depth from year to year?” |
