Friday April 8, 2022
Earth.com —
Oceans are made up of multiple layers. Lighter, warmer waters sit at the top while denser, cooler waters can be found at the bottom. To move heat, ocean mixing is vital.
Ocean mixing also moves oxygen, nutrients and pollutants between different layers, playing a major role in how ecosystems sustain life. A new study has shown how fish can influence ocean ecosystems by circulating nutrients and oxygen around the waters when they spawn. Prior to this study, it was not previously understood how fish contribute to ocean mixing.
A team led by the University of Southampton spent fifteen days monitoring water turbulence in the Ría de Pontevedra, a bay in the northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The experts measured variations in ocean current speed and temperature over very small distances.
It is known that turbulence and mixing increases during major storm events. The results of the study showed that increased levels of turbulence and mixing occurred every night, even without a storm.