ABSTRACT
The physical transport and transfer of pollutants is determined by the motion in the sea. The spreading, or dispersion, of a passive contaminant is governed by two classes of processes; namely, advection and mixing, sometimes also called diffusion. The study of turbulent diffusion aims at a description of the mixing of a contaminant in terms of the statistical characteristics of the turbulence. The interpretation of the turbulent motion beneath the surface layer of the sea as being characterized by a high degree of intermittency and with a patchy distribution seems to hold. One of the basic objections to the use of turbulent transport coefficients is that it allows only for transports down a gradient. The properties and action of geostrophic turbulence can be extremely important for the development of the energy-containing motion in the ocean as well as for the mean circulation.
