Geothermal Heating in the Panama Basin: 1. Hydrography of the Basin. Issue 10 (21st October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Banyte, D.; Morales Maqueda, M.; Hobbs, R.; Smeed, D. A.; Megann, A.; Recalde, S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of geophysical research. Volume 123:Issue 10(2018)
• Page Start: 7382
• Page End: 7392
• Publication Date: 2018-10-21
• Subjects: geothermal heating -- Panama Basin -- abyssal hydrography; Oceanography -- Periodicals; 551.4605
• DOI: 10.1029/2018JC013868
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2169-9275

Abstract

Abstract: The Panama Basin serves as a laboratory to investigate abyssal water upwelling. The basin has only a single abyssal water inflow pathway through the narrow Ecuador Trench. The estimated critical inflow through the Trench reaches 0.34 ± 0.07 m/s, resulting in an abyssal water volume inflow of 0.29 ± 0.07 Sv. The same trench carries the return flow of basin waters that starts just 200 m above the bottom and is approximately 400‐m deeper than the depth of the next possible deep water exchange pathway at the Carnegie Ridge Saddle. The curvature of temperature‐salinity diagrams is used to differentiate the effect of geothermal heating on the deep Panama Basin waters that was found to reach as high as 2, 200‐m depth, which is about 500 m above the upper boundary of the abyssal water layer. Key Points: The single abyssal water source for the Panama Basin is the flow through the Ecuador Trench Critical flow theory suggests an abyssal water inflow of 0.29 ± 0.07 Sv The effect of geothermal heating can reach as high as 2, 200‐m depth or 500 m above the abyssal water layer