Turbulence observations in the Gulf of Trieste under moderate wind forcing and different water column stratification

The oceanographic campaign CARPET2014 (Characterizing Adriatic Region Preconditionig EvenTs), (30 January-4 February 2014) collected the very first turbulence data in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea) under moderate wind (average wind speed 10 ms(-1) and heat flux (net negative heat flux ranging from 150 to 400 Wm(-2). Observations consisted of 38 CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) casts and 478 microstructure profiles (grouped into 145 ensembles) with three sets of yoyo casts, each lasting for about 12 consecutive hours. Averaging closely repeated casts, such as the ensembles, can lead to a smearing effect when in the presence of a vertical density structure with strong interfaces that can move up or down between subsequent casts under the influence of tides and internal waves. In order to minimize the smearing effect of such displacements on mean quantities, we developed an algorithm to realign successive microstructure profiles to produce sharper and more meaningful mean profiles of measured turbulence parameters.