Tests of Parameterized Langmuir Circulation Mixing in the Oceans Surface Mixed Layer II

Recent large-eddy simulations (LES) of Langmuir circulation (LC) within the surface mixed layer (SML) of the ocean found that LC can significantly increase the rate of mixing within the SML and sometimes increase the mixed layer depth (MLD). This report investigates the parameterization of the effec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Martin,Paul J, Savelyev,Ivan B
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
LC(Langmuir circulation)
Ocean modeling
Ocean turbulence
Ocean waves
Oceans
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
simulations
SML(Surface mixed layer)
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Summary:Recent large-eddy simulations (LES) of Langmuir circulation (LC) within the surface mixed layer (SML) of the ocean found that LC can significantly increase the rate of mixing within the SML and sometimes increase the mixed layer depth (MLD). This report investigates the parameterization of the effects of LC on upper-ocean mixing presented in Kantha and Clayson (2004) and Harcourt (2015). These parameterizations of the enhancement of upper-ocean mixing by LC were implemented in the version of the Mellor-Yamada Level 2.5 (MYL2.5) turbulence model used in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) and tested for (a) a simple wind-mixing case, (b) simulations of the upper ocean thermal structure at Ocean Weathership Station (OWS) Papa, and (c) simulations of Hurricane Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico. Results with the Kantha and Clayson (2004) and Harcourt (2015) LC mixing parameterizations are compared with each other and with NCOMs original MYL2.5 turbulence model without a LC mixing parameterization.