Russian scientists from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered near-bottom currents of Antarctic bottom water in the equatorial part of the Atlantic Ocean. These currents fill the deepest depressions in this region with depths of more than 7800 m, and also carry cold bottom waters to the east and further northward, determining the temperature of the bottom layer over a large area of the Northeast Atlantic.

The study, supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, will improve understanding of the processes occurring at great depths of the World Ocean in a changing climate.

Frey D.I., Krechik V.A., Bashirova L.D., Ostroumova S.A., Smirnova D.A., Kuleshova L.A., Ponomarenko E.P., Morozov E.G., Ligi M., Dudkov I.Yu., Sivkov V.V. Multiple Abyssal Jets Flowing Into the Vema Deep, Romanche Fracture Zone // Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2023, Volume 128, Issue 2, e2022JC019434. DOI:10.1029/2022JC019434