Ridges, Seamounts, Troughs, and Bowls: Topographic Control of the Dianeutral Circulation in the Abyssal Ocean

In situ observations obtained over the last several decades have shown that the intensity of turbulent mixing in the abyssal ocean is enhanced toward the seafloor. Consequently, a new paradigm has emerged whereby dianeutral downwelling dominates in the ocean interior and dianeutral upwelling only occurs within thin bottom boundary layers. This study shows that when mixing is bottom intensified the net abyssal dianeutral transports and the stratification can depend on subtle features of the seafloor geometry. Under an assumption of depth-independent net dianeutral upwelling, small changes in the curvature of the seafloor can result in interior stratification that is bottom intensified, uniform, or surface intensified. Further, when the net dianeutral transport is allowed to vary in the vertical, changes in the seafloor slope and bathymetric contour length with height can drive lateral exchange between the boundary layer and interior, with particularly strong lateral outflows predicted at the crests of midocean ridges. Finally, using a realistic neutral density climatology the authors suggest that the increase in the perimeter of abyssal neutral density surfaces with height drives much of the dianeutral upwelling at depths greater than 4 km, while the increase in the slope of the seafloor at shallower depths acts to oppose upwelling. These results add to a growing body of literature highlighting the key control of seafloor geometry on the abyssal overturning circulation.