Observations of biologically generated turbulence in a coastal inlet.
Measurements in a coastal inlet revealed turbulence that was three to four orders of magnitude larger during the dusk ascent of a dense acoustic-scattering layer of krill than during the day, elevating daily-averaged mixing in the inlet by a factor of 100. Because vertically migrating layers of swimming organisms are found in much of the ocean, biologically generated turbulence may affect (i) the transport of inorganic nutrients to the often nutrient-depleted surface layer from underlying nutrient-rich stratified waters to affect biological productivity and (ii) the exchange of atmospheric gases such as CO2 with the stratified ocean interior, which has no direct communication with the atmosphere.
Kunze
Eric
E
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Post Office Box 3055, STN CSC Victoria, BC, V8W-3P6, Canada. kunze@uvic.ca
Dower
John F
JF
Beveridge
Ian
I
Dewey
Richard
R
Bartlett
Kevin P
KP
D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D033201:Euphausiacea / Q000502:physiology*; D009791:Oceanography; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D011156:Population Density; D012623:Seawater; D013550:Swimming; D014872:Water Movements