DIMES: Diapycnal and Isopycnal Mixing Experiment in the Southern Ocean
Lead Research Organisation:
NERC British Antarctic Survey
Department Name: Science Programmes
Abstract
Detailed in Lead Institution (NOC) Proposal
Publications
Abrahamsen E
(2019)
Stabilization of dense Antarctic water supply to the Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation
in Nature Climate Change
Boland E
(2012)
The Formation of Nonzonal Jets over Sloped Topography
in Journal of Physical Oceanography
Brearley J
(2014)
Deep boundary current disintegration in Drake Passage BOUNDARY CURRENT DISINTEGRATION
in Geophysical Research Letters
Brearley J
(2017)
Controls on turbulent mixing on the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf
in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
Cimoli L
(2019)
Sensitivity of Deep Ocean Mixing to Local Internal Tide Breaking and Mixing Efficiency
in Geophysical Research Letters
Cusack J
(2017)
Observation of a Large Lee Wave in the Drake Passage
in Journal of Physical Oceanography
Cusack J
(2020)
Observed Eddy-Internal Wave Interactions in the Southern Ocean
in Journal of Physical Oceanography
Evans D
(2017)
Recent Wind-Driven Variability in Atlantic Water Mass Distribution and Meridional Overturning Circulation
in Journal of Physical Oceanography
Jiang M
(2019)
Fe sources and transport from the Antarctic Peninsula shelf to the southern Scotia Sea
in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Kuhlbrodt T
(2012)
The influence of eddy parameterizations on the transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in coupled climate models
in Ocean Modelling
| Description | Controls on the spreading and mixing of dense waters from Antarctica Deep mixing in the Southern Ocean is an important process in closing the lower limb of the oceanic overturning circulation, with implications for deep ocean ventilation and global climate. Several years of ship-based measurements in the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) were analysed, and the episodic presence of very dense layers at the seabed was discovered. These layers had vertical gradients in temperature and density that are as strong as those in the near-surface Southern Ocean, and are caused by water intermittently spilling across a ridge at the entrance to the Scotia Sea and becoming trapped in deep trenches. Using measurements of dissolved tracers, one such layer was found to have been trapped for at least 3-4 years. This enabled vertical mixing to be calculated, and it was found that the rate of mixing that the layer had been subjected to was substantially less than the very strong basin-average mixing reported previously. It was concluded that deep mixing in the Scotia Sea is significantly spatially structured, with the majority of the mixing occurring as the water crosses the ridge to enter the basin. Similar layers are observed outside the Scotia Sea, indicating that the same controls on the spreading and mixing of deep ocean waters may be widespread. |
| Exploitation Route | See NE/E007058/1 |
| Sectors | Environment |
| Description | See NE/E007058/1 |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Other |