The Mississippi/Atchafalaya river plume in the Northern Gulf of Mexico creates a stratified environment conducive to bottom hypoxia. This study uses high-resolution observations and numerical simulations to show how the summer land-sea breeze generates rapid vertical exchange at the plume fronts. The interaction between the breeze and fronts creates convergence/divergence in the surface mixed layer, resulting in a slantwise circulation that subducts surface water and upwells bottom waters, ventilating the bottom water and potentially impacting the dead zone dynamics.

Lixin Qu, Leif N. Thomas, Aaron F. Wienkers, Robert D. Hetland, Daijiro Kobashi, John R. Taylor, Fucent Hsuan Wei Hsu, Jennifer A. MacKinnon, R. Kipp Shearman, Jonathan D. Nash