Seamounts as centers of motion, commotion, and bio-physical connections in the open ocean

Montag 20.07.2026, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Berlin

5-1.214 - PAZIFIK / PACIFIC- Rechte Seite - Großer, unterteilbarer Konferenzraum (GEOMAR - Standort Ostufer / GEOMAR - East Shore)

Speaker: Christian Mohn, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University

Hybrid  -  online via 

https://geomar.webex.com/geomar-en/j.php?MTID=m6f187b689fccd196c05d249d28f6d0d8

Abstract:

The global seafloor hosts tens of thousands of seamounts that often form unique habitats and hotspots of marine life within otherwise low‑productivity, low‑diversity open‑ocean regions. By interacting with surrounding currents, seamounts modify ocean conditions from local to basin scales. They support specialized benthic communities and a diverse associated fauna, from fish to seabirds, despite often located in food‑limited environments. Persistent hydrodynamic hotspots that enhance the advection of suspended organic material and food items in general are therefore likely critical to sustaining these ecosystems. Through flow-topography interactions, seamounts generate a broad range of intensified flow features, including internal waves and turbulent mixing, which in turn enhance productivity, biomass, and biodiversity. This presentation highlights key mechanisms of local-scale flow-topography interaction at seamounts and their role in driving and shaping species distributions and bio-physical connections, illustrated with examples from different studies across the Atlantic.