Seamounts attract the attention of physical oceanographers for a variety of reasons: seamounts play a special role in ocean biology; they may be hydrothermally and magmatically active and thereby feed the ocean with heat, chemical constituents, and microbes; they help convert ocean tidal energy into smaller-length waves and turbulence that affect the ocean locally and globally; and they act, in effect, as sources and sinks of ocean eddies. From a physical oceanographic perspective, the interaction of passing ocean flows with seamount topography is rich in outcomes. That richness originates in the global variability of seamount height and shape, seamount latitude, local ocean stratification, the amplitude and time dependence of the passing flow, as well as many secondary factors, such as proximity to neighboring topography. All these together determine the nature of the circulation, local hydrographic distributions, turbulence, and transport around a seamount. Here we summarize important concepts of ocean physics at seamounts and recount some of the settings in which this physics plays out. Selected aspects of biophysical coupling are also highlighted, particularly the loss and retention of particles, which are connected to a seamount’s ability to sustain biological and biologically important property distributions in the face of impinging flows.

Lavelle, J.W., and C. Mohn. 2010. Motion, commotion, and biophysical connections at deep ocean seamounts. Oceanography 23(1):90–103, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.64.

Baines, P.G. 2007. Internal tide generation by seamounts. Deep-Sea Research Part I 54:1,486–1,508.
1. Baker, E.T., R.W. Embley, S.L. Walker, J.A. Resing, J.E. Lupton, K.-I. Nakamura, C.E.J. de Ronde, and G.J. Massoth. 2008. Hydrothermal activity and volcano distribution along the Mariana arc. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, B08S09, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005423.
2. Baker, E.T., C.G. Fox, and J.P. Cowen. 1999. In situ observations of the onset of hydrothermal discharge during the 1998 submarine eruption of Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Geophysical Research Letters 26(23):3,445–3,448.
3. Bashmachnikov, I., C. Mohn, J.L. Pelegri, A. Martins, F. Jose, F. Machín, and M. White. 2009. Interaction of Mediterranean water eddies with Sedlo and Seine Seamounts, Subtropical Northeast Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 56(25):2,593–2,605.
4. Beckmann, A. 1995. Numerical modeling of time-mean flow at isolated seamounts. Pp. 57–66 in Topographic Effects in the Ocean. P. Müller and D. Henderson, eds., Proceedings ‘Aha Huliko’a Hawaiian Winter Workshop, January 17–20, 1995, Honolulu, HI. 
5. Beckmann, A., and D.B. Haidvogel. 1997. A numerical simulation of flow at Fieberling Guyot. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:5,595–5,613.
6. Beckmann, A., and C. Mohn. 2002. The upper ocean circulation at Great Meteor seamount: Part II. Retention potential of the seamount-induced circulation. Ocean Dynamics 52:194–204.
7. Bograd, S.J., A.B. Rabinovich, P.H. LeBlond, and J. Shore. 1997. Observations of seamount-attached eddies in the North Pacific. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:12,441–12,456. 
8. Brewin, P.E., K.I. Stocks, D.B. Haidvogel, C. Condit, and A. Gupta. 2009. Effects of oceanographic retention of decapods and gastropod community diversity on seamounts. Marine Ecology Progress Series 383:225–237.
9. Brink, K.H. 1989. The effect of stratification on seamount-trapped waves. Deep-Sea Research 36:825–844.
10. Brink, K.H. 1990. On the generation of seamount-trapped waves. Deep-Sea Research 37:1,569–1,582.
11. Brink, K.H. 1995. Tidal and lower frequency currents above Fieberling Guyot. Journal of Geophysical Research 100:10,817–10,822.
12. Cenedese, C. 2002. Laboratory experiments on mesoscale vortices colliding with a seamount. Journal of Geophysical Research 107, C63053, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC000599.
13. Chapman, D.C. 1989. Enhanced subinertial diurnal tides over isolated topographic features. Deep-Sea Research 36:815–824.
14. Chapman, D.C., and D.B. Haidvogel. 1992. Formation of Taylor caps over a tall and isolated seamount in a stratified ocean. Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics 64:31–65.
15. Clark, M. 2001. Are deepwater fisheries sustainable? The example of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) in New Zealand. Fisheries Research 51:123–135. 
16. Codiga, D., and C.C. Eriksen. 1997. Observations of low-frequency circulation and amplified subinertial tidal currents at Cobb Seamount. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:22,993–23,007. 
17. Comeau, L.A., A.F. Vezina, M. Bourgeois, and S.K. Juniper. 1995. Relationship between phytoplankton production and the physical structure of the water column near Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific. Deep-Sea Research Part I 42:993–1,005.
18. de Ronde, C.E.J., M.D. Hannington, P. Stoffers, I.C. Wright, R.G. Ditchburn, A.G. Reyes, E.T. Baker, G.J. Massoth, J.E. Lupton, S.L. Walker, and others. 2005. Evolution of a submarine magmatic-hydrothermal system: Brothers Volcano, southern Kermadec Arc, New Zealand. Economic Geology 100:1,097–1,133.
19. de Steur, L., D.M. Holland, R.D. Muench, and M.G. McPhee. 2007. The warm-water “Halo” around Maud Rise: Properties, dynamics and impact. Deep-Sea Research Part I 54:871–896.
20. Dower, J.F., and D.L. Mackas. 1996. Seamount effects in the zooplankton community near Cobb seamount. Deep-Sea Research Part I 43:837–858.
21. Embley, R.W., E.T. Baker, D.A. Butterfield, W.W. Chadwick Jr., J.E. Lupton, J.A. Resing, C.E.J. de Ronde, K.-I. Nakamura, V. Tunnicliffe, J.F. Dower, and S.G. Merle. 2007. Exploring the submarine ring of fire: Mariana Arc—Western Pacific. Oceanography 20(4):68–79.
22. Eriksen, C.C. 1991. Observations of amplified flows atop a large seamount. Journal of Geophysical Research 96:15,227–15,236. 
23. Eriksen, C.C. 1998. Internal wave reflection and mixing at Fieberling Guyot. Journal of Geophysical Research 103(C2):2,977–2,994.
24. Ezer, T. 1994. On the interaction between the Gulf Stream and the New England seamount chain. Journal of Physical Oceanography 24(1):191–204.
25. Fernandez de la Mora, J. 2007. The fluid dynamics of Taylor cones. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 39:217–243. 
26. Freeland, H. 1994. Ocean circulation at and near Cobb Seamount. Deep-Sea Research 41:1,715–1,732.
27. Garrett, C. 2003. Internal tides and ocean mixing. Science 301:1,858–1,859.
28. Garrett, C., and E. Kunze. 2007. Internal tide generation in the deep ocean. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 39:57–87.
29. Genin, A. 2004. Biophysical coupling in the formation of zooplankton and fish aggregation over abrupt topographies. Journal of Marine Systems 50:3–20. 
30. Genin, A., and G.W. Boehlert. 1985. Dynamics of temperature and chlorophyll structures above a seamount: An oceanic experiment. Journal of Marine Research 43:907–924. 
31. Genin, A., and J.F. Dower. 2007. Seamount plankton dynamics. Pp. 85–100 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. 
32. Genin, A., P.K. Dayton, P.F. Lonsdale, and F.N. Spiess. 1986. Corals on seamounts provide evidence of current acceleration over deep sea topography. Nature 322:59– 61.
33. Goldner, D.R., and D.C. Chapman. 1997. Flow and particle motion induced above a tall seamount by steady and tidal background currents. Deep-Sea Research Part I 44:719–744.
34. Herbette, S., Y. Morel, and M. Arhan. 2003. Erosion of a surface vortex by a seamount. Journal of Physical Oceanography 33:1,664–1,679.
35. Hogg, N.G. 1973. On the stratified Taylor column. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 58:515–537.
36. Holloway, P.E., and M.A. Merrifield. 1999. Internal tide generation by seamounts, ridges, and islands. Journal of Geophysical Research 104:25,937–25,951.
37. Huber, J.A., and J.F. Holden. 2008. Modeling the impact of diffuse vent microorganisms along mid-ocean ridges and flanks. Pp. 215–232 in Magma to Microbe, Modeling Hydrothermal Processes at Oceanic Spreading Centers. R.P. Lowell, J.S. Seewald, A. Metaxias, and M.R. Perfit, eds, Geophysical Monograph 178, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. 
38. Huppert, H.E., and K. Bryan. 1976. Topographically generated eddies. Deep-Sea Research 23:655–679.
39. Koslow, J.A. 1997. Seamounts and the ecology of deep-sea fisheries. American Scientist 85:168–176.
40. Kunze, E., and T.B. Sanford. 1996. Abyssal mixing: Where it is not. Journal of Physical Oceanography 26:2,286–2,296.
41. Kunze, E., and J.M. Toole. 1997. Tidally driven vorticity, diurnal shear, and turbulence atop Fieberling Seamount. Journal of Physical Oceanography 27:2,663–2,693.
42. Lavelle, J.W. 2006. Flow, hydrography, turbulent mixing, and dissipation at Fieberling Guyot examined with a primitive equation model. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, C07014, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003224.
43. Lavelle, J.W., E.T. Baker, and G.A. Cannon. 2003. Ocean currents at Axial Volcano, a northeastern Pacific seamount. Journal Geophysical Research 108(C2), 3020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001305.
44. Lueck, R.G., and T.D. Mudge. 1997. Topographically induced mixing around a shallow seamount. Science 276:1,831–1,833.
45. Lupton, J., D. Butterfield, M. Lilley, L. Evans, K.-I. Nakamura, W. Chadwick Jr., J. Resing, R. Embley, E. Olson, G. Proskurowski, and others. 2006. Submarine venting of liquid carbon dioxide on a Mariana Arc Volcano. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7, Q08007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GC001152.
46. Metaxas, A. 2004. Spatial and temporal patterns in larval supply at hydrothermal vents in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography 49:1,949–1,956.
47. Mohn, C., M. White, I. Bashmachnikov, F. Jose, and J.L. Pelegri. 2009. Dynamics at an elongated, intermediate depth seamount in the North Atlantic (Sedlo Seamount, 40°20'N, 26°40'W). Deep-Sea Research II Topical Studies in Oceanography 56(25):2,582–2,592.
48. Morato, T., C. Bulman, and T.J. Pitcher. 2009. Modelled effects of primary and secondary production enhancement by seamounts on local fish stocks. Deep-Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 56(25)2,713–2,719.
49. Mouriño, B., E. Fernández, P. Serret, D. Harbour, B. Sinha, and R. Pingree. 2001. Variability and seasonality of physical and biological fields at the Great Meteor Tablemount (subtropical NE Atlantic). Oceanologica Acta 24:167–185.
50. Mullineaux, L.S., and S.W. Mills. 1997. A test of the larval retention hypothesis in seamount-generated flows. Deep-Sea Research Part I 44:745–770.
51. Noble, M., and L.S. Mullineaux. 1989. Internal tidal currents over the summit of Cross Seamount. Deep Sea Research 36:1,791–1,802.
52. Nycander, J., and J.H. Lacasce. 2004. Stable and unstable vortices attached to seamounts. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 507:71–94.
53. Owens, W.B., and N.G. Hogg. 1980. Oceanic observations of stratified Taylor columns near a bump. Deep-Sea Research 27:1,029–1,045.
54. Pitcher, T.J., and C. Bulman. 2007. Raiding the larder: A quantitative evaluation framework and strophic signature for seamount food webs. Pp. 282–295 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds., Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
55. Pitcher, T.J., M.R. Clark, T. Morato, and R. Watson. 2010. Seamount fisheries: Do they have a future? Oceanography 23(1):134–144.
56. Proudman, J. 1916. On the motion of solids in a liquid possessing vorticity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 92:408–424.
57. Resing, J.A., G. Lebon, E.T. Baker, J.E. Lupton, R.W. Embley, G.J. Massoth, W.W. Chadwick Jr., and C.E.J. de Ronde. 2007. Venting of acid-sulfate fluids in a high-sulfidation setting at NW Rota-1 submarine volcano on the Mariana Arc. Economic Geology 102(6):1,047–1,061.
58. Richardson, P.L., A.S. Bower, and W. Zenk. 2000. A census of meddies tracked by floats. Progress in Oceanography 45(2):209–250.
59. Roden, G.I. 1987. Effects of seamounts and seamount chains on ocean circulation and thermohaline structure. Pp. 335–354 in Seamounts, Islands and Atolls. B. Keating, P. Fryer, R. Batiza, and G. Boehlert, eds, Geophysical Monograph 43, American Geophysical Union, Washington DC.
60. Rogers, A.D. 1994. The biology of seamounts. Advances in Marine Biology 30:305–350.
61. Royer, T.C. 1978. Ocean eddies generated by seamounts in the North Pacific. Science 199:1,063–1,064.
62. Schär, C., and H.C. Davies. 1988. Quasi-geostrophic stratified flow over isolated finite amplitude topography. Dynamics of Atmosphere and Oceans 11:287–306.
63. Shank, T.M. 2010. Seamounts: Deep-ocean laboratories of faunal connectivity, evolution, and endemism. Oceanography 23(1):108–122.
64. Shapiro, G.I., S.L. Meschanov, and M.V. Emelianov. 1995. Mediterranean lens “Irving” after its collision with seamounts. Oceanologica Acta 18:309–318.
65. Staudigel, H., S.R. Hart, A. Pile, B.E. Bailey, E.T. Baker, S. Brooke, D.P. Connelly, L. Haucke, C.R. German, I. Hudson, and others. 2006. Vailulu’u seamount, Samoa: Life and death on an active submarine volcano. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103:6,448–6,453.
66. Stocks, K.I., and P.J.B. Hart. 2007. Biogeography and biodiversity of seamounts. Pp. 255–281 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
67. Sutyrin, G.G. 2006. Critical effects of a tall seamount on a drifting vortex. Journal of Marine Research 64(2):297–317. 
68. Taylor, G.I. 1917. Motions of solids in fluids when the flow is not irrotational. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 93:99–113.
69. Taylor, G.I. 1923. Experiments on the motion of solid bodies in rotating fluids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 104:213–218.
70. Toole, J.M., R.W. Schmitt, K.L. Polzin, and E. Kunze. 1997. Near-boundary mixing above the flanks of a mid-latitude seamount. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:947–959. 
71. Verron, J., and C. Le Provost. 1985. A numerical study of quasi-geostrophic flow over isolated topography. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 154:231–252.
72. Walker, S.L., E.T. Baker, J.A. Resing, W.W. Chadwick Jr., G.T. Lebon, J.E. Lupton, and S.G. Merle. 2008. Eruption-fed particle plumes and volcaniclastic deposits at a submarine volcano: NW-Rota-1, Mariana Arc. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, B08S11, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005441. 
73. Wessel, P., D.T. Sandwell, and S.-S. Kim. 2010. The global seamount census. Oceanography 23(1):24–33.
74. White, M., I. Bashmachnikov, J. Aristegui, and A. Martins. 2007. Physical processes and seamount productivity. Pp. 65–84 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds., Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
75. Wilson, C.D., and G.W. Boehlert. 1993. Population biology of Gnathophausia longispina (Mysidacea, Lophogastrida) from a central North Pacific seamount. Marine Biology 115:537–543.
76. Wilson, C.D., and G.W. Boehlert. 2004. Interaction of ocean currents and resident micronekton at a seamount in the central North Pacific. Journal of Marine Systems 50:39–60.
77. Zhang, X.H., and D.L. Boyer. 1991. Current deflections in the vicinity of multiple seamounts. Journal of Physical Oceanography 21(8):1,122–1,138.
78. Zhang, X.Z., D.S. McGuinness, and D.L. Boyer. 1994. Narrow barotropic currents impinging on an isolated seamount. Journal of Geophysical Research 99:22,707–22,724.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.