The upper ocean circulation at Great Meteor Seamount. Part II: Retention potential of the seamount-induced circulation

The circulation patterns at Meteor Seamount are investigated for implications for the marine ecosystem, using a numerical ocean circulation model. The importance of tidal amplification and rectification as well as internal tide generation has been documented in Part I of this study. Passive tracers confirm the idea that there is an area above the seamount which is largely isolated from the surroundings. Lagrangian particle trajectories are used to test and quantify the potential for retention. We find that passively advected organisms are more likely to remain in the near-surface layers above Meteor Seamount than actively migrating organisms, which might escape from the area. Finally, the importance of strong wind events on the distribution of particles is illustrated.