Turbulent erosion of a subducting intrusion in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Frontal zones within the Western Alboran Gyre (WAG) are characterized by a density gradient resulting from the convergence of Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. Subduction along isopycnals at the WAG periphery can play a crucial role in upper-ocean ventilation and influences its stratification and biogeochemical cycles. In 2019, physical parameters (comprising temperature, salinity, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates) and biogeochemical data (oxygen and chlorophyll a) profiles were collected in transects along the northern edge of the WAG. Several intrusions of subducted water with elevated oxygen, chlorophyll a, and spice anomaly were identified towards the center of the anticyclone. These features had elevated kinetic energy dissipation rates on both their upper and lower boundaries. Analysis of the turbulent fluxes involving heat, salt, oxygen, and chlorophyll a demonstrated a net flux of physical and biogeochemical properties from the intrusions to the surrounding ocean. Either the turbulent or diffusive convection mixing contributed to the observed dilution of the intrusion. Other factors (e.g., water column density stability, variability of the photic layer depth, and organic matter degradation) likely played a role in these dynamics. Enhanced comprehension of the persistence and extent of these features might lead to an improved quantitative parameterization of relevant physical and biogeochemical properties involved in subduction within the study zone.

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