Scientists tracked deep-sea dye; canyon water rose 100 metres a day
Scientists have discovered that deep-sea water in a North Atlantic canyon rises at a rate of 100 meters per day, significantly faster than previously estimated. This finding helps explain how cold, dense water returns to the surface as part of the global ocean circulation system.
Why it matters
Understanding these ocean currents is critical for accurate climate modeling and predicting how the ocean regulates global heat and nutrients.
A fluorescent green dye released nearly 1,870 metres below the surface of the North Atlantic has helped scientists directly observe a long-suspected movement of deep ocean water, and the water was rising far faster at the study site than the global average previously estimated.In an experiment conducted in 2021, researchers released about 55 gallons of non-toxic fluorescein dye close to the seafloor inside a submarine canyon in the Rockall Trough, roughly 370 kilometres northwest of Ireland. By tracking the dye as it moved through the deep water, the team found evidence of vigorous upward mixing along the canyon slope.The measured upwelling was of the order of 100 metres per day, around 10,000 times the global average rate required to sustain the ocean's large-scale overturning circulation, according to the study published in Nature in June 2024.
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