Observations of diapycnal upwelling within a sloping submarine canyon
Observations of diapycnal upwelling within a sloping submarine canyon
Date
2024-06-26
Authors
Wynne-Cattanach, Bethan L.
Couto, Nicole
Drake, Henri F.
Ferrari, Raffaele
Le Boyer, Arnaud
Mercier, Herle
Messias, Marie-Jose
Ruan, Xiaozhou
Spingys, Carl P.
van Haren, Hans
Voet, Gunnar
Polzin, Kurt L.
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
Alford, Matthew H.
Couto, Nicole
Drake, Henri F.
Ferrari, Raffaele
Le Boyer, Arnaud
Mercier, Herle
Messias, Marie-Jose
Ruan, Xiaozhou
Spingys, Carl P.
van Haren, Hans
Voet, Gunnar
Polzin, Kurt L.
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
Alford, Matthew H.
Linked Authors
Alternative Title
Citable URI
As Published
Date Created
Location
DOI
10.1038/s41586-024-07411-2
Related Materials
Replaces
Replaced By
Keywords
Abstract
Small-scale turbulent mixing drives the upwelling of deep water masses in the abyssal ocean as part of the global overturning circulation1. However, the processes leading to mixing and the pathways through which this upwelling occurs remain insufficiently understood. Recent observational and theoretical work2,3,4,5 has suggested that deep-water upwelling may occur along the ocean’s sloping seafloor; however, evidence has, so far, been indirect. Here we show vigorous near-bottom upwelling across isopycnals at a rate of the order of 100 metres per day, coupled with adiabatic exchange of near-boundary and interior fluid. These observations were made using a dye released close to the seafloor within a sloping submarine canyon, and they provide direct evidence of strong, bottom-focused diapycnal upwelling in the deep ocean. This supports previous suggestions that mixing at topographic features, such as canyons, leads to globally significant upwelling3,6,7,8. The upwelling rates observed were approximately 10,000 times higher than the global average value required for approximately 30 × 106 m3 s−1 of net upwelling globally9.
Description
© The Author(s), 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Wynne-Cattanach, B., Couto, N., Drake, H., Ferrari, R., Le Boyer, A., Mercier, H., Messias, M.-J., Ruan, X., Spingys, C., van Haren, H., Voet, G., Polzin, K., Naveira Garabato, A., & Alford, M. (2024). Observations of diapycnal upwelling within a sloping submarine canyon. Nature, 630(8018), 884–890, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07411-2.
Embargo Date
Citation
Wynne-Cattanach, B., Couto, N., Drake, H., Ferrari, R., Le Boyer, A., Mercier, H., Messias, M.-J., Ruan, X., Spingys, C., van Haren, H., Voet, G., Polzin, K., Naveira Garabato, A., & Alford, M. (2024). Observations of diapycnal upwelling within a sloping submarine canyon. Nature, 630(8018), 884–890.