Hotspots of connectivity from the surface to mesopelagic: from eddy fluxes to climate

Mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics are associated with relatively fast vertical velocity, resulting in transport of carbon, nutrients, and oxygen from the surface mixed layer to the ocean interior. While these processes are crucial for exchange from the mixed layers at the surface and bottom boundary, they are often boundary-intensified, leaving the magnitude of their net impact on the ocean interior less clear. Nuanced understanding of the physical mechanisms of vertical transport of tracers, which results from covariance of vertical velocity with tracer anomalies, is essential to quantification of these dynamics on regional and global scales. This talk will synthesize recent understanding of mesoscale and submesoscale transport and highlight prospects for filling knowledge gaps.