Open AccessInteracting ocean waves explain powerful seafloor canyon flows
Author(s) -
Schultz Colin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo070020
Subject(s) - canyon , submarine canyon , geology , seafloor spreading , head (geology) , oceanography , internal tide , current meter , internal wave , geomorphology
Off the southwestern coast of Taiwan the Gaoping Submarine Canyon meanders in a giant backward S shape as it stretches southwestward toward the South China Sea. In the canyon, a 200‐meter‐deep cut into the seafloor that lies 300 meters below the sea's surface, the waters carry an usually large amount of internal tidal power—9.1 megawatts from the canyon's mouth to its head. Along with the strong flows a region of enhanced vertical mixing sits at the canyon's head. Researchers had previously attributed the anomalous flows to internal waves pushing through the Gaoping Canyon, though the source of the energy remained an open question.