LES Modeling of Lateral Dispersion in the Ocean on Scales of 10m-10km
Abstract
The long-term goals of this research are to gain an understanding of the dynamical processes that govern small-scale lateral dispersion in the ocean on scales of 10m-10km, and to use this knowledge to develop and implement parameterizations for regional-scale ocean models. This project represents one of several numerical modeling efforts by ONR that is focused on submesoscale lateral dispersion. The primary objective of the project is to understand the impact of small-scale vortices produced by geostrophic adjustment following wave breaking events. Several aspects of this problem are being considered, including the influence of larger scale vortices on the submesoscale vortices, the role of mean shears, and of near-inertial waves. Process numerical simulations in idealized deep ocean environments (away from boundaries or topography) are performed with a three-dimensional pseudo-spectral code. The model is run at high resolutions on parallel platforms including a Linux cluster and DoD supercomputers. Funding for this project only became available in mid-June. Consequently, the work discussed in this report is very much work in progress. Focus has been on understanding the characteristics of turbulent fields produced by ensembles of wave breaking events. In particular, we would like to understand if and how this type of turbulence differs from turbulence that is generated by different mechanisms. The goal is to obtain quantitative estimates of spectral fluxes that can be compared to the spectral fluxes that result from other submesoscale energy sources such as frontal and geostrophic instabilities. The spectral energy fluxes that we obtain will ultimately be compared to the fluxes estimated by the other participants in the Lateral Mixing DRI and will help us assess the relative contribution of adjustment-driven turbulence to lateral mixing rates on scales of 0.1-10km in the ocean.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA527042
Entities
People
- Marie-pascale Lelong
Organizations
- Northwest Research Associates