Analysis of Near-Surface Atmospheric and Oceanic Measurements Obtained During CBLAST-Low
2008
Trowbridge, J. H. | Plueddemann, A. J.
Prepared in cooperation with the University of Connecticut.
Show more [+] Less [-]Atmospheric and oceanic measurements obtained during the low-wind component of the Coupled Boundary Layers and Air-Sea Transfer program (CBLAST-Low) were used to elucidate the dynamics of the ocean surface mixed layer. The objective was to quantify and understand the roles of shear- and buoyancy-generated turbulence, Langmuir circulations, and wave breaking in determining the surface-layer structure and dynamics. The project supported the doctoral research of Greg Gerbi, a student in the joint educational program offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the work was done in collaboration with Jim Edson, of the University of Connecticut. The measurements occurred primarily during conditions in which shear, buoyancy and wave breaking were important energy sources, while Langmuir circulation was present but not dominant. The primary results were (1) successful closure of interface-spanning heat and momentum budgets with direct-covariance measurements of turbulent fluxes, (2) demonstration that the dominant length scales of the flux-carrying turbulent eddies are consistent with wall-layer scaling, (3) verification of enhanced dissipation rates, energy levels, and effective diffusivities in a wave-affected near-surface layer, and (4) qualified success of energetics-based turbulence parameterizations in reproducing the observed fluxes, length-scales, and energy levels.
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