Past exam of the geophysical fluid dynamics course of the University of Oxford / 2025 / 2 / c / ii

Dense water formed in marginal seas spills over sills and descends the continental slope as a marginal-sea overflow. Strong shear flow generates turbulent mixing and entrainment of surrounding, lighter water. The descending current's volume flux grows while its density anomaly is diluted, modifying the depth at which it joins the deep circulation and the temperature and salinity of the exported water. Thus the deep volume flux can substantially exceed the source overflow volume flux; it cannot be inferred from northern surface cooling alone.^[ref]