Spatial and Seasonal Variability of Mixed Layer Depth in the Tropical Atlantic using 40 Years of Observational Data

Kanga Désiré
KOUAME
Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO) 29 Rue des Pêcheurs Treichville BPV 18 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, UFR SSMT, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire Tel: (+225) 0708003608
Aka Marcel KOUASSI, Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO), 29 Rue des Pêcheurs Treichville BPV 18 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Albert TROKOUREY, Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique UFR SSMT, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire
Elisée TOUALY, Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny Laboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère et de Mécanique des Fluides (LAPA-MF) UFR SSMT, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire
Kouadio Benjamin N'GUESSAN, Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO), 29 Rue des Pêcheurs Treichville BPV 18 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, UFR SSMT, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire
Patrice Brehmer, IRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, Lemar Délégation Régionale IRD Ouest Plouzané, France
Marek Ostrowski, Institute of Marine Research (IMR) Nordnesgaten 50 Bergen, Norway
Poster
The spatial and seasonal variability of the mixed layer depth (MLD) was studied using hydrological data from several databases collected over the period October 1973 to March 2017 at 10 °W between latitudes 2 °N and 10 °S in the Gulf of Guinea. The density threshold method with 0.03 kg m-3 criterion was used to calculate the MLD. In the equatorial band, the seasonal average MLD is 20 m whatever the season. At 6 °S and 10 °S, the MLD is relatively higher during the cold season. The MLD varies between 21 and 37 at 6 °S, and the seasonal averages MLD are 21 and 40 m respectively during the hot and cold seasons. At 10 °S, during the hot season, the MLD varies between 28 and 52 m and the seasonal average is 39.5 m. During the cold season, the MLD varies between 45 and 55 m with a seasonal average of 49 m.