Boundary Current and Mixing Processes in the High Latitude Oceans

The overarching goal of this project is to expand our understanding of the dynamics and distribution of mixing in the global ocean. This project extends to smaller scales the past high latitude ocean research carried out by the investigator and incorporates a desire to integrate high latitude results into the global ocean context. Improved qualitative and quantitative understanding is needed if we are to improve our ability to incorporate mixing processes into large-scale models, and this need has provided a primary driver for this project. The work emphasizes high latitude oceans because: (1) they are primary sites for surface conditioning of deep waters that drive the meridional overturning circulation, a significant component of the overall mean ocean circulation and one that is particularly sensitive to mixing processes; (2) they provide some excellent, and in some cases extreme, examples of mixing-related phenomena that are active throughout the world oceans and therefore can broaden our parameter spectrum for such phenomena; (3) they provide highly suitable, and in some cases excellent, natural laboratories for field study of these phenomena; and (4) the high latitude oceans are data-poor in comparison with the rest of the global ocean, despite the apparent importance of understanding mixing processes in these remote areas.