THERMOHALINE INVERSIONS IN QUASI-HOMOGENEOUS LAYERS OF STEPLIKE OCEANIC FINE-STRUCTURE

Properties of temperature and salinity inversions in quasihomogeneous layers of thermohaline staircase are analysed using the data of observations in the Western Tropical North Atlantic. Inversions are supposed to be formed by advective circulations that arise within inclined quasihomogeneous layers in stably stratified fluid. The analytical model of the phenomena which is developed allows to simulate well the shape of inversion profiles and to evaluate salt and heat exchange efficiency within quasihomogeneous layers of oceanic thermohaline staircase (approximately 1 cm2/sec in vertical direction and approximately 10(4) cm2/sec along the inclined layer).