119207 RODA.pdf (598.33 kB)
Quantifying upper ocean turbulence driven by surface waves
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 08:29 authored by D'Asaro, EA, Thomson, J, Shcherbina, AY, Harcourt, RR, Cronin, M, Mark HemerMark Hemer, Fox-Kemper, BNearly all operational ocean models use air-sea fluxes and the ocean shear and stratification to estimate upper ocean boundary layer mixing rates. This approach implicitly parameterizes surface wave effects in terms of these inputs. Here we test this assumption using parallel experiments in a lake with small waves and in the open ocean with much bigger waves. Under the same wind stress and adjusting for buoyancy flux, we find the mixed layer average turbulent vertical kinetic energy in the open ocean typically twice that in the lake. The increase is consistent with models of Langmuir turbulence, in which the wave Stokes drift, and not wave breaking, is the dominant mechanism by which waves energize turbulence in the mixed layer.Applying these same theories globally, we find enhanced mixing and deeper mixed layers resulting from the inclusion of Langmuir turbulence in the boundary layer parameterization, especially in the Southern Ocean.
History
Publication title
Geophysical Research LettersVolume
41Pagination
102-107ISSN
0094-8276Department/School
Australian Maritime CollegePublisher
American Geophysical UnionPlace of publication
USARights statement
Copyright 2013 American Geophysical UnionRepository Status
- Open