ABSTRACT Intrusions with water properties of the surface mixed layer are seen to occur in the stratified pycnocline. These features appear to be coherent pathways by which oxygen, phytoplankton carbon and other near-surface properties are transported to depth. What are the mechanisms for advective vertical transport or subduction of properties from the surface mixed layer to the subsurface? What are the Lagrangian pathways of subduction and what is the vertical flux induced through these mechanisms? These are some of the questions that we address in a program called CALYPSO, carried out in collaboration with IMEDEA and SOCIB. This seminar presents an overview and some research highlights.

Amala Mahadevan is a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Her interests lie in exploring processes that shape the oceanic environment and contribute to the earth's climate. She uses models and observations to study transport and mixing processes in the ocean and their implications for oceanic biogeochemistry and ecology. She is particularly interested in understanding the link between physical and biological processes in the oceans, which is of relevance for the oceanic carbon cycle with which the earth’s climate is so intrinsically linked. Mahadevan, who earned her PhD at Stanford University, is the recipient of several research grants from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. She is engaged in an active research program with her collaborators, postdoctoral scientists, and PhD students in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program.