  In the stably stratified ocean, small-scale turbulence is important for
vertical exchange and hence for the mixing of water masses and suspended
matter. To observationally study turbulent motions and the buoyancy- and
shear-generators behind them, a 100-m tall array of high-resolution temperature
(T) sensors was moored at a 2480-m deep seafloor near the steep continental
slope of the Western Mediterranean Sea. The area is dominated by boundary flow,
(sub-)mesoscale eddies, internal waves, wintertime dense water formation, and
very weak vertical density stratification. Various physical oceanographic
processes are observed in detail through a seasonal cycle, including: Low
shear-driven turbulence in weak stratification in late-summer and autumn, large
buoyancy-driven turbulence by geothermal heating from below alternated with
inertial internal wave motions in winter, and moderate buoyancy-like turbulence
pushed with stratified waters from above in late-winter and spring.
