LIDAR and Numerical Modeling Studies of Small-Scale Lateral Dispersion in the Ocean

Abstract

One objective of our work is to determine the extent to which shear dispersion the interaction of vertical mixing with vertical shear can explain lateral dispersion at scales of 10 m to 10 km. A second objective is to determine whether slow but persistent vortices enhance the stirring attributable to shear dispersion. We also share the overall objectives of the Lateral Mixing DRI to try to determine the extent to which submesoscale stirring is driven by a cascade of energy down (in wavelength) from the mesoscale, versus a propagation of energy upwards from small mixing events (e.g., via generation of vortices). A key technical goal of our work is to develop the use of airborne LIDAR surveys of evolving dye experiments as a tool for studying submesoscale lateral dispersion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2012
Accession Number
ADA590739

Entities

People

  • Miles A. Sundermeyer

Organizations

  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Airborne
  • Data Analysis
  • Dispersions
  • Dyes
  • Fluorescence
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Frequency
  • Gulf Stream
  • Instability
  • Internal Waves
  • Laser Dyes
  • Mixing
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Simulations
  • Teamwork
  • Trajectories

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.