Mesoscale Turbulence, Plankton and the Marine Ecosystem (original) (raw)

This talk discusses some recent results on the interplay between oceanic turbulence and marine ecosystem functioning, considering both numerical simulations of geophysical turbulence and the analysis of satellite data. Attention will be focussed on the effects of mesoscale structures on nutrient input and on primary productivity in the ocean. I shall also discuss the role of mesoscale vortices as transport barriers, a fact that may have interesting consequences on plankton competition and on marine