Turbulent Dissipation Rates, Mixing, and Heat Fluxes in the Canadian Arctic from Glider-based Microstructure Measurements

We present new observations from a microstructure-equipped ocean glider in the southeastern Beaufort Sea of the Canadian Arctic. The glider measured 345 quasi-vertical profiles of microstructure shear and finescale temperature and salinity. We use these measurements to calculate the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy and to assess the strength of turbulent mixing. The region is characterized by strong stratification, and we find that despite dissipation rates varying across four orders of magnitude, turbulence is only rarely energetic enough to create a meaningful buoyancy flux. In the vast majority of our measurements, turbulent mixing is inhibited by the stratification.