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Rapid vertical exchange at fronts in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [3];  [6];  [7];  [6];  [6]
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
  4. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  5. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
  6. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  7. Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Over the Texas-Louisiana Shelf in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, the eutrophic, fresh Mississippi/Atchafalaya river plume isolates saltier waters below, supporting the formation of bottom hypoxia in summer. The plume also generates strong density fronts, features of the circulation that are known pathways for the exchange of water between the ocean surface and the deep. Using high-resolution ocean observations and numerical simulations, we demonstrate how the summer land-sea breeze generates rapid vertical exchange at the plume fronts. We show that the interaction between the land-sea breeze and the fronts leads to convergence/divergence in the surface mixed layer, which further facilitates a slantwise circulation that subducts surface water along isopycnals into the interior and upwells bottom waters to the surface. This process causes significant vertical displacements of water parcels and creates a ventilation pathway for the bottom water in the northern Gulf. The ventilation of bottom water can bypass the stratification barrier associated with the Mississippi/Atchafalaya river plume and might impact the dynamics of the region’s dead zone.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF); Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1894460
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-171774
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 13; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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