Numerical Simulations of Episodic Mixing and Lateral Dispersion by Vortical Modes

Abstract

Long-Term Goals: The long-term goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the rates and mechanisms of lateral dispersion in the ocean. The specific goal of the numerical simulations in this study is to provide a quantitative basis for examining current hypotheses on the importance of lateral dispersion by vortical modes. Objectives: This work will provide quantitative predictions, guided by observations, of rates of lateral dispersion by vortical-mode stirring over the continental shelf. A significant contribution of this work will be the direct comparison of numerical predictions to observations from the ONR-funded Coastal Mixing and Optics (CMO) experiments, as well as to theoretical results which hitherto have had only minimal observational or numerical underpinning (Sundermeyer, 1998; Sundermeyer and Ledwell, 2001). A second and major contribution of this work will be to provide a basis for parameterizing vertical and horizontal dispersion rates due to vortical-mode stirring in stratified coastal waters.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2001
Accession Number
ADA623868

Entities

People

  • James R. Ledwell
  • M. P. Lelong
  • Miles A. Sundermeyer

Organizations

  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Continental Shelves
  • Department Of Defense
  • Dispersions
  • Dissipation
  • Electronic Mail
  • Equations
  • Gravity Waves
  • Hypotheses
  • Internal Waves
  • Mixing
  • Navier Stokes Equations
  • Observation
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Simulations
  • Stratification
  • Waves

Readers

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