ON THE THERMOHALINE FINE-STRUCTURE IN THE CALIFORNIA UPWELLING REGION

Statictics of homogeneous and intrusive fine-structure layers are anal yzed using detailed thermohaline transects taken near the California c oast in the Monterey Bay in September 1990. A percentage of the total thickness of the layers with inversive fine-structure temperature grad ients at each temperature profile in the depth range 120-420 m was use d as an integral measure of intrusive activity R+. The same measure re lated to the quasihomogeneous layers R-0 was interpreted as a mixing a ctivity in the region. Intermittently mixed steplike structure along t he continental slope was separated from the off-shore highly intrusive area by a frontal zone between California and Davidson currents. Typi cal estimate of R+ in the frontal zone was about 20% that is twice as more than outside. The highest (R) over bar(0) = 0.26 was observed in the southern part of the bay at the shallowest depths. The probability distribution function of the thickness' of the quasi-homogeneous laye rs F(L) east of the front can be approximated by log-normal distributi on. West of the front, these functions well-approximated by double log -normal distribution reflecting a cluster structure of turbulent mixin g in the California current.