The Intermediate Depth Waters of the Tasman and Coral Seas. II.The 26.80σ_t surface

Abstract

The distribution of salinity, dissolved oxygen, and phosphates on the 26.80 σ_t surface of the Tasman and Coral Seas is examined. The distribution patterns of these properties and the relations of salinity and phosphate and salinity and oxygen values are explained by horizontal mixing of three water types. These originated, one to the north of the Antarctic Convergence, one in the south-west Tasman, possibly in the Australian Bight, and one at the equator in the western Pacific. The major sinking regions and the circulation paths of subtropical waters in the Tasman Sea are deduced from their summer and winter distribution and from the topography of the 26.80 σ_t, surface.