Connecting Mixing to Upwelling Along the Ocean's Sloping Boundary
Name
Geophysical Research Letters - 2025 - Naveira Garabato - Connecting Mixing to Upwelling Along the Ocean s Sloping Boundary.pdf
Description
Published version
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2.16 MB
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Author(s)
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C
Spingys, Carl P
Castro, Bieito Fernández
Couto, Nicole
Drake, Henri F
Forryan, Alexander
Gao, Zhiyuan
Ma, Yuchen
Mercier, Herlé
Messias, Marie‐José
Date Issued
November 17, 2025
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Naveira Garabato, A. C., Spingys, C. P., Castro, B. F., Couto, N., Drake, H. F., Forryan, A., et al. (2025). Connecting mixing to upwelling along the ocean's sloping boundary. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2025GL119186.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Deep‐ocean upwelling, driven by small‐scale turbulence, plays a key role in climate by regulating the ocean's capacity to sequester heat and carbon. Recent theoretical studies have hypothesized that such upwelling may primarily occur within a bottom boundary layer (BBL) along the sloping seafloor. A dye experiment in a continental‐slope canyon during the BLT‐Recipes program revealed very rapid BBL‐focussed upwelling, endorsing this notion. Here, we elucidate the dynamical connection between the mixing and the upwelling. We show that along‐canyon upwelling stems from episodic turbulent mixing cells up to 250 m high, generated by tides sweeping up‐ and down‐canyon. The tidal currents support a vertical shear that periodically advects dense waters over slower‐flowing lighter waters, reducing BBL stratification. This triggers instabilities that mix the dense waters with neighboring lighter waters, resulting in net along‐boundary upwelling. Our findings substantiate the view that deep‐ocean upwelling can predominantly occur along the ocean's sloping boundaries.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119186
