Subfilter Scale Fluxes in the Marine Surface Layer

Abstract

LONG-TERM GOALS A goal of marine surface layer research is to identify and quantify coupling mechanisms that connect the atmospheric boundary layer and surface waves. Large-eddy simulation (LES) plays a role in this research and has provided insight into the interactions between imposed waves and turbulence (Sullivan et al., 2004; Sullivan et al., 2006). However, the fidelity of subfilter-scale (SFS) parameterizations used in LES for flows over complex geometry, e.g., a moving surface gravity wave field, is untested. Recent field campaigns such as the Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (HATS) conducted over land have provided new impetus to improve parameterizations in LES codes (e.g., see Sullivan et al., 2003; Chen & Tong, 2006; Hatlee & Wyngaard, 2006). A natural progression in these investigations is then to study increasingly complex flows. In the present work we present results from a new field campaign, the Ocean Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (OHATS), specifically directed at the measurement of SFS variables in the marine surface layer in the presence of surface waves. These observations can be used to examine and improve the SFS parameterization in LES codes, and more broadly, the impacts of water waves on surface layer turbulence under a variety of atmospheric stability conditions and wave states. Ultimately, the dataset and derived improvements to LES can benefit surface-layer parameterizations in mesoscale and numerical weather prediction models. Partners in OHATS are Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (also U. Connecticut), the Earth Observing Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Department of Meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. The OHATS field campaign was conducted in 2004 off the coast of Martha s Vineyard using a low-profile Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT). The ASIT is an integral component of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2006
Accession Number
ADA631413

Entities

People

  • James B. Edson
  • John C. Wyngaard
  • Peter P Sullivan

Organizations

  • National Center for Atmospheric Research

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Boundary Layer
  • Equations
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Large Eddy Simulation
  • Layers
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Meteorology
  • Surface Waves
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Flow
  • Water Waves
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waves
  • Weather Forecasting
  • Wind

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers