POLOMINTS

Project Overview

Internal waves play a critical but poorly understood role in polar ocean mixing, nutrient supply, and biogeochemical cycling. POLOMINTS investigates how internal tsunamis—large-amplitude internal waves generated by interactions between tides, stratification, and topography—drive mixing processes that regulate marine ecosystems and carbon export in polar regions.

The project combines autonomous platform observations, ship-based measurements, and numerical modeling to quantify internal wave generation, propagation, and dissipation in Arctic and Antarctic environments. Work Package 2, which I lead, focuses on the biological and biogeochemical consequences of wave-driven mixing, including impacts on phytoplankton productivity, nutrient cycling, and particle export.

By characterizing these mixing processes, POLOMINTS aims to improve our understanding of polar ocean physics-biology coupling and enhance predictions of how polar ecosystems will respond to ongoing climate change.