A natural tracer-release experiment (an injection of helium by submarine volcanoes into the current that flows around Antarctica) is used to measure the rates of mixing and upwelling in the southwest Atlantic sector of the current. Results indicate that the rough topography of the ocean floor in this region leads to both rapid mixing across density surfaces and rapid upwelling along density surfaces, which together create a 'short circuit' in the global oceanic overturning circulation.
- Alberto C. Naveira Garabato
- David P. Stevens
- Wolfgang Roether
