Surface effects of bottom-generated turbulence in a shallow tidal sea

W. A. M. Nimmo Smith (), S. A. Thorpe and A. Graham
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W. A. M. Nimmo Smith: School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton Oceanography Centre
S. A. Thorpe: School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton Oceanography Centre
A. Graham: School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton Oceanography Centre

Nature, 1999, vol. 400, issue 6741, 251-254

Abstract: Abstract Turbulence in shelf seas strongly affects the spread of pollution (such as oil spills1) as well as the distribution of sediment2 and phytoplankton blooms3. Turbulence is known to be generated intermittently close to the sea bed4, but little is known of its evolution through the water column, or to what extent it affects the surface. Here we present observations of the surface effects of bottom-generated turbulence in a tidally influenced and well mixed region of the North Sea, as derived from acoustic and visual images. Although the sea bed in the area is flat, we find that at any one time, 20–30% of the water surface is affected by boils—circular regions of local upwelling—of diameter 0.9±0.2 times the water depth. The signature of individual boils persists for at least 7 minutes and, in accordance with laboratory5,6 and numerical7 studies, shows the appearance of eddies. The boils contribute to the replacement of surface waters from depth in unstratified waters, and may therefore enhance the fluxes of gases between atmosphere and ocean.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/22295

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