INTRODUCTION

Our understanding of ocean mixing processes has generally lagged our grasp of large-scale ocean circulation. Perhaps the greatest impact of this knowledge gap has been the inability of large-scale ocean models to parameterize these small-scale processes adequately. This lack of adequate parameterization has, in turn, limited the ability of models to recreate all pertinent aspects of the large-scale circulation or to provide credible predictions of reaction to various climate change scenarios. Recently, though, a number of elegant studies involving methods such as tracer releases and utilizing newly developed instrumentation have started to close the gap in understanding between the very large-scale and the very small-scale ocean processes. We are now acquiring a quantitative, as well as a qualitative, understanding of the interactions among mean and fluctuating currents, internal waves, seafloor topography and roughness, stratification, and both diapycnal and lateral mixing.