Publication Date:
2017-01-20
Description:
Mesoscale eddies in the ocean strongly impact the distribution of planktonic particles,
mediating carbon fluxes over ~1/3 of the world ocean. However, mechanisms controlling particle transport
through eddies are complex and challenging to measure in situ. Here we show the subsurface distribution of
eddy particles funneled into a wineglass shape down to 1000 m, leading to a sevenfold increase of vertical
carbon flux in the eddy center versus the eddy flanks, the “wineglass effect”. We show that the slope of the
wineglass (R) is the ratio of particle sinking velocity to the radially inward velocity, such that R represents a
tool to predict radial particle movement (here 0.05ms�1). A simple model of eddy spindown predicts such an
ageostrophic flow concentrating particles in the eddy center. We explore how size-specific particle flux
toward the eddy center impacts eddies' biogeochemistry and export fluxes.
Repository Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Type:
Article
,
isiRev
Format:
application/pdf