Upper Ocean Dynamics and Horizontal Variability in Low Winds
Abstract
Our long-range scientific objective is to observe and understand the temporal and spatial variability of the upper ocean, to identify the processes that determine that variability, and to examine its predictability. Air-sea interaction is of particular interest, but attention is also paid to the coupling of the sub-thermocline ocean to the mixed layer and to both the open-ocean and littoral regimes. We seek to do this over a wide range of environmental conditions with the intent of improving our understanding of upper ocean dynamics and of the physical processes that determine the vertical and horizontal structure of the upper ocean. Little work has been done to explore air-sea interaction and upper ocean dynamics in very light winds, and few observations are available that describe the mesoscale and smaller scale horizontal variability of the upper ocean in such conditions. The objectives of this work are to observe and understand in low wind conditions: (1) how and why the vertical structure and properties of the surface boundary layer of the ocean (roughly the upper 20 to 50 m) evolve in time, and (2) how and why this evolution varies at horizontal lags of 10s of meters to 10s of kilometers on time scales of minutes to months. To do so we seek to observe and identify: (1) the processes that spatially modulate the vertical structure of the upper ocean (including the depth, salinity, temperature, and velocity of the mixed layer), (2) the processes at work at the base of the mixed layer (such as entrainment), and (3) the air-sea exchanges (fluxes of heat, freshwater, and momentum) that couple the boundary layers on horizontal scales of tens of meters up to 100 km.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 19, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA524314
Entities
People
- Robert A. Weller
Organizations
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution