Topography controlled mixing along mid-ocean ridges

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With the Maria S. Merian cruise 25 (MSM25) in 2013 in the South Atlantic, nearly 5% of the global ridge crest were mapped for the very first time with regard to geology and physical oceanography. The objective of the proposal presented here is the first interpretation of this unique set of hydrographic, bathymetric, and noble gas data along the slow spreading southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge from 33° to 12°S. The analysis will focus on the distribution of vertical mixing along the ridge crest calculated from finestructure hydrographic data and of the horizontal and vertical spreading of the plume of primordial helium emanating from hydrothermal sources along the ridge axis. The results of this preparatory study will be the basis for a research proposal with the aim to exploit the concurrent high quality hydrographic and bathymetric data to develop an improved model for the dependence of vertical mixing on roughness and ridge morphology for the use in climate models, based on the synthesis of several data sets.