New research led by oceanographers from Bangor University has identified the important role of oxygen mixing in maintaining healthy conditions in deep waters around the UK. The research, published in Nature Communications, shows how the mixing down of oxygen by summer storms helps top up oxygen levels in deep waters, which is essential for marine life to survive. Lead author Professor Tom Rippeth explains that warmer water holds less oxygen, creating a summer oxygen deficit in the deep seas. This deficit is expected to grow with climate warming, making the mixing down of oxygen crucial for ocean health.
During the summer, stratification in deeper waters isolates them from the atmosphere, which is the main source of oxygen. The research team, including scientists from Bangor University, the University of Liverpool, and the National Oceanography Centre, used innovative techniques to estimate oxygen fluxes in the ocean. Their results show that the mixing down of oxygen by summer storms can slow the development of the deepwater oxygen deficit by up to 50%. This finding has implications for the proposed mass development of floating wind farms in areas like the Celtic Sea and northern North Sea in pursuit of NetZero goals.
The proposed floating wind turbines in these areas will generate a turbulent wake that mixes down oxygen in summer, thus improving ocean health. However, the research emphasizes the need to consider the potential impacts of modified mixing in the design of turbine foundations and spatial planning of new wind farms. The observations were collected as part of the UK Natural Environment Research Council’s Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics and Fluxes over Shelf Systems project, which is part of the Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry research programme co-funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through UK Research and Innovation grants.
The study highlights the importance of oxygen mixing by summer storms in maintaining healthy conditions in deep waters around the UK. With climate warming leading to a summer oxygen deficit in the deep seas, the mixing down of oxygen is crucial for marine life to survive. The research team used innovative techniques to estimate oxygen fluxes in the ocean and found that mixing down of oxygen by summer storms can significantly reduce the development of the deepwater oxygen deficit. This finding has implications for the proposed mass development of floating wind farms in regions like the Celtic Sea and northern North Sea for achieving NetZero goals.
The proposed floating wind turbines in these areas will generate a turbulent wake that mixes down oxygen in summer, positively impacting ocean health. However, the research also highlights the need to consider the potential impacts of modified mixing in the design of turbine foundations and spatial planning of new wind farms. The observations were collected as part of the UK Natural Environment Research Council’s Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics and Fluxes over Shelf Systems project, contributing to the Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry research programme co-funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through UK Research and Innovation grants.