@article{466,
  author = {Lewis Bailey and Michael Clare and James Hunt and Ian Kane and Elda Miramontes and Marco Fonnesu and Ricardo Argiolas and Giuseppe Malgesini and Regis Wallerand},
  title = {Highly variable deep-sea currents over tidal and seasonal timescales},
  abstract = {Deep-sea transport of sediment and associated matter, such as organic carbon, nutrients and pollutants, is controlled by near-bed currents. On the continental slope, these currents include episodic down-slope gravity-driven turbidity currents and more sustained thermohaline-driven along-slope contour currents. Recent advancements in deep-sea monitoring have catalysed a step change in our understanding of turbidity currents and contour currents individually. However, these processes rarely operate in isolation and the near-bed current regime is still to be quantified in a mixed system. Such measurements are crucial for understanding deep-sea particulate transport, calibrating numerical models and reconstructing palaeoflow. Here we use 4 years of observations from 34 instrument moorings in a mixed system offshore of Mozambique to show that near-bed currents are highly dynamic. We observe spatial variability in velocity over tidal and seasonal timescales, including reversals in current direction, and a strong steering and funnelling influence by local seabed morphology. The observed near-bed currents are capable of mobilizing and distributing sediments across the seabed, therefore complicating deep-sea particulate transport and reconstruction of palaeoceanographic conditions.},
  year = {2024},
  journal = {Nature Geoscience},
  volume = {17},
  pages = {787-794, },
  month = {2024/08/01},
  isbn = {1752-0908},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01494-2},
  doi = {10.1038/s41561-024-01494-2},
}