The Vertical Structure of the Temperature Field and the Spatial Distribution of the Dispersion of Temperature Fluctuations in the Global Ocean on Synoptic Scales

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Three-dimensional temperature fields constructed by using regression method based on satellite observations of ocean surface topography and temperature mainly in mid- and low-latitude regions of the Global Ocean for 2005–2022 are analyzed. Typical profiles of regression coefficients are presented for several regions of the Global Ocean. It is shown that seawater temperature fluctuations in phase with sea level caused by synoptic eddies with horizontal scales from 50 to 150 km predominate throughout the main thermocline. In the near-surface ocean layer, seawater temperature variations are largely coherent with changes in sea surface temperature (SST) and appear to be driven by submesoscale processes. Comparison of regression coefficient profiles within the anticyclonic gyre in the North Atlantic with the results of processing data from the POLYMODE hydrological surveys suggests that the patterns described above have remained stable for over forty years. A joint analysis of vertical temperature profiles derived from regression and those ones observed by ARGO floats shows that in areas of high eddy activity, the sea surface temperature variations in phase with sea level account for up to 70–80% of the variance in seawater temperature deviations from the climatic mean. Where the eddy activity falls, this ratio decreases to 20–30%.