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

Abstract

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.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 11, 2017
Accession Number
AD1038768

Entities

People

  • Ivan B. Savelyev
  • Paul J. Martin

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Convection
  • Equations
  • Frequency
  • Grids
  • Heat Flux
  • Large Eddy Simulation
  • Military Research
  • Radiation
  • Richardson Number
  • Solar Radiation
  • Surface Waves
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Mixing
  • Wave Power
  • Wind Velocity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers