There is large discrepancy between mixing quantifications made from direct observations and those made from budget arguments. In other words, there exists mixing in the Baltic Sea that has not yet been identified through direct measurements. The identification and quantification of this “missing mixing” is a major open question in Baltic Sea research, and one that we will focus on in the present project. There have been studies on the influence of gentle slopes in the Baltic Sea bottom topography on vertical mixing, but our knowledge about how rough and steep bottom topography interacts with ocean currents and stratification is limited at present. In order to study these interactions in detail and to quantify the mixing that is being generated in regions with steep bottom topography, we will combine traditional multibeam seafloor mapping, CTD, ADCP and microstructure measurements, with new acoustic techniques for observing ocean stratification using state-of-the-art broadband echo sounders.
This is a collaboration between The Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre, Department of Geological Sciences, IOW (Warnemünde, Tyskland) and SMHI.
Contact:
Christian Stranne, Department of Geological Sciences
christian.stranne@geo.su.se