Coastal and Near Surface Mixing
Abstract
My long-term goals are to increase our understand of the role of turbulence and mixing on the circulation of the ocean and the transport of heat, salt, and other important scalars. I wish to establish whether the horizontal distribution of heat flux and dissipation rate are related to the distribution of Langmuir cells, as indicated by the density of bubble clouds, and to what extent, if any, the flux of heat and the intensity of mixing are enhanced by Langmuir circulation. Langmuir cells are wind and wave induced flows in the surface mixing layer and consist of counter rotating horizontal vortices with a typical spacing of 10 to 100 m and a length of several hundred meters. They essential form a quasi-coherent structure that has large (O(0.1 m s(-1))) vertical velocity at the convergence zone between vortex pairs and, therefore, may enhance the rate of vertical exchange with the atmosphere. I also wish to establish how turbulent processes, such as friction and vertical mixing, control tidal flows in coastal channels and how these processes can be parameterized in terms of easily measured quantities such as the current, its vertical shear and the stratification of density.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA569109
Entities
People
- Rolf Lueck
Organizations
- University of Victoria