On the dynamics and effects of double-diffusively driven intrusions

Some of the characteristics of intrusive finestructure observed in oceanic fronts suggest that salt fingering is active in the intrusions. An extension of Stern's 1967 study of the stability of a thermohaline front to intrusive finestructure driven by salt fingers is presented to investigate this hypothesis. Intrusions are found to grow due to the salt finger induced density fluxes even in the presence of small scale momentum dissipation. The presence of this dissipation defines a fastest growing mode for the disturbance which has physical characteristics not unlike those observed in oceanic fronts.