Biogeochemical evidence of vigorous mixing in the abyssal ocean
Biogeochemical evidence of vigorous mixing in the abyssal ocean
The metabolic activities of biological communities living at the abyssal seabed create a strong source of nutrients and a sink for oxygen. If the published estimates of vertical mixing based on instantaneous microstructure measurements are correct, near to the abyssal seabed away from rough topographic features there should be enhanced concentrations of nitrate and phosphate and depletion of oxygen. Recent data on the vertical concentration profiles of inorganic nutrients and oxygen over the bottom 1000 m of the water column (World Ocean Circulation Experiment - WOCE) provide no such evidence. It is concluded that the effective vertical mixing rates are much more vigorous than previously indicated and may even be higher than estimates of average basin scale rates based on temperature and salinity distributions. We propose that the enhanced mixing associated with rough topography influences the entire volume of the abyssal ocean on short time scales (e.g., one month - one year).
woce, abyssobenthic zone, biogeochemistry, vertical mixing, metabolism, aquatic communities, geology, biology
1459-1462
Lampitt, Richard S.
dfc3785c-fc7d-41fa-89ee-d0c6e27503ad
Popova, Ekaterina E.
3ea572bd-f37d-4777-894b-b0d86f735820
Tyrrell, Toby
6808411d-c9cf-47a3-88b6-c7c294f2d114
3 May 2003
Lampitt, Richard S.
dfc3785c-fc7d-41fa-89ee-d0c6e27503ad
Popova, Ekaterina E.
3ea572bd-f37d-4777-894b-b0d86f735820
Tyrrell, Toby
6808411d-c9cf-47a3-88b6-c7c294f2d114
Lampitt, Richard S., Popova, Ekaterina E. and Tyrrell, Toby
(2003)
Biogeochemical evidence of vigorous mixing in the abyssal ocean.
Geophysical Research Letters, 30 (9), .
(doi:10.1029/2002GL016638).
Abstract
The metabolic activities of biological communities living at the abyssal seabed create a strong source of nutrients and a sink for oxygen. If the published estimates of vertical mixing based on instantaneous microstructure measurements are correct, near to the abyssal seabed away from rough topographic features there should be enhanced concentrations of nitrate and phosphate and depletion of oxygen. Recent data on the vertical concentration profiles of inorganic nutrients and oxygen over the bottom 1000 m of the water column (World Ocean Circulation Experiment - WOCE) provide no such evidence. It is concluded that the effective vertical mixing rates are much more vigorous than previously indicated and may even be higher than estimates of average basin scale rates based on temperature and salinity distributions. We propose that the enhanced mixing associated with rough topography influences the entire volume of the abyssal ocean on short time scales (e.g., one month - one year).
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 3 May 2003
Keywords:
woce, abyssobenthic zone, biogeochemistry, vertical mixing, metabolism, aquatic communities, geology, biology
Organisations:
Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre,Southampton
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 1958
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/1958
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 04d154c1-edd9-4e3f-bdf1-706dee648ca0
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 28 Apr 2004
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:52
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Richard S. Lampitt
Author:
Ekaterina E. Popova
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
