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Science 22 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5794, pp. 1768 - 1770
DOI: 10.1126/science.1129378
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Reports

Observations of Biologically Generated Turbulence in a Coastal Inlet

Eric Kunze,1* John F. Dower,1* Ian Beveridge,2 Richard Dewey,1 Kevin P. Bartlett1

Measurements in a coastal inlet revealed turbulence that was three to four orders of magnitude larger during the dusk ascent of a dense acoustic-scattering layer of krill than during the day, elevating daily-averaged mixing in the inlet by a factor of 100. Because vertically migrating layers of swimming organisms are found in much of the ocean, biologically generated turbulence may affect (i) the transport of inorganic nutrients to the often nutrient-depleted surface layer from underlying nutrient-rich stratified waters to affect biological productivity and (ii) the exchange of atmospheric gases such as CO2 with the stratified ocean interior, which has no direct communication with the atmosphere.

1 School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Post Office Box 3055, STN CSC Victoria, BC, V8W-3P6, Canada.
2 Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Post Office Box 3020, STN CSC Victoria, BC, V8W-3N5, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kunze{at}uvic.ca (E.K.); dower{at}uvic.ca (J.F.D.)

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E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Turbulent Dissipation of Coastal Seas
Tom P. Rippeth, et al.
Science Online, 7 Jun 2007 [Full text]
Kunze and Dowers' Response to Tom P. Rippeth et al.
Eric Kunze, et al.
Science Online, 7 Jun 2007 [Full text]

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)