Enter the abyssThe central and eastern Pacific Ocean include some of Earth’s largest abyssal regions (places where the sea is more than 3,000 metres deep). Rather than being a uniform layer, we found the bottom mixed layer in the abyssal Pacific varies dramatically. It is continually stirred by remote forces, shaped by seafloor features, and dynamically connected to the rest of the ocean above. Just as coastal waters are shaped by waves, currents and sediment movement, the abyssal ocean is shaped by its own set of drivers. First, the bottom mixed layer influences how heat is stored and redistributed in the ocean, affecting long-term climate change.