Transect along 24 degrees N latitude of C-14 in dissolved inorganic carbon in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

The distribution of bomb-produced C-14 in the ocean provides a powerful constraint for circulation models of upper ocean mixing. We report C-14 measurements from an east-west section of the main thermocline at 24 degrees N latitude in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean in summer 1992, and one profile from the Gulf of Mexico in 1993. Observed gradients reflect the transient invasion of bomb C-14 into the thermocline via mixing along isopycnals from the poleward outcrop, with progressively more sluggish mixing at greater depths. A slight deepening of the profile is observed over the 20-yr period since the GEOSECS survey at one location where the comparison is possible.