In this project, the PI will investigate ventilation in the North Pacific thermocline, specifically the origin of the shallow subsurface maxima in the concentration of Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). The CFC data collected during the hydrographic program of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) will be used to map the locations of these maxima, against both depth and density in order to identify the spatial structure of this feature. WOCE data will be compared to pre-WOCE CFC sections to observe the temporal evolution of the CFC maxima. Adding to the data analysis, a two-pronged modeling approach will be employed, beginning with a simple advective/diffusive model, after which a more sophisticated general circulation model would be used to study the origin of this feature, as well as what can be inferred about the ventilation of the main thermocline.
