Finescale parameterizations of turbulent dissipation

Polzin, Kurt L.; Garabato, Alberto C. Naveira; Huussen, Tycho N.; Sloyan, Bernadette M.; Waterman, Stephanie

doi:10.1002/2013jc008979

Cited by 192 publications

(336 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…The disagreement of the GH model might be associated with the wave field in the SCS. Previous studies (Polzin et al, 1995;Wijesekera et al, 1993) have indicated that the predictions of the GH model would exhibit departure from the observed dissipation by more than 1 order of magnitude in regions where the wave field deviates from the GM spectrum. Thus, it is appropriate to examine the wave field in the SCS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Assuming a balance between vertical advection and vertical diffusion for tracers, Munk (1966) reported that a global average diapycnal diffusivity of 10 −4 m 2 s −1 is required to maintain gross oceanic stratification and overturning circulation (Tsujino et al, 2000). However, diapycnal diffusivity from turbulent mixing in the open ocean thermocline only ranges from 5 × 10 −6 to 3 × 10 −5 m 2 s −1 (Gregg, 1998;Polzin et al, 1995). Therefore, it has been argued that elevated turbulent mixing concentrated over rough topography (Ledwell et al, 2000;Wu et al, 2011) would aid in explaining this discrepancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

2017

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Abstract. The spatial distribution of the dissipation rate (ε) and diapycnal diffusivity (κ) in the upper ocean of the South China Sea (SCS) is presented from a measurement program conducted from 26 April to 23 May 2010. In the vertical distribution, the dissipation rates below the surface mixed layer were predominantly high in the thermocline where shear and stratification were strong. In the regional distribution, high dissipation rates and diapycnal diffusivities were observed in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, with an average dissipation rate and diapycnal diffusivity of 8.3 × 10 −9 W kg −1 and 2.7 × 10 −5 m 2 s −1 , respectively, almost 1 order of magnitude higher than those in the central and southern SCS. In the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, the water column was characterized by strong shear and weak stratification. Elevated dissipation rates (ε > 10 −7 W kg −1 ) and diapycnal diffusivities (κ > 10 −4 m 2 s −1 ), induced by shear instability, occurred in the water column. In the central and southern SCS, the water column was characterized by strong stratification and weak shear and the turbulent mixing was weak. Internal waves and internal tides generated near the Luzon Strait are expected to make a dominant contribution to the strong turbulent mixing and shear in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait. The observed dissipation rates were found to scale positively with the shear and stratification, which were consistent with the MacKinnon-Gregg model used for the continental shelf but different from the Gregg-Henyey scaling used for the open ocean.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

2017

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“…These parameterizations are based on the pioneering work of Gregg (1989) with important refinements provided by Polzin et al (1995), Gregg et al (2003) and others. Empirical relationships were determined using shear measured at the 10-m scale by specialized profiling systems (Sanford et al (1982), Schmitt et al (1988), Lueck (2002)).…”

Section: Estimates Based On Finestructure Shearmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conventional acoustic Doppler current systems resolve velocity variations to vertical scales of generally between 50-100 m (Polzin et al (1995), Thurnherr et al (2015)). To address resolution limitations of shear measurements, Polzin et al (2002) proposed an empirically derived transfer function that accounts for the loss of measured velocity variance at smaller vertical scales.…”

Section: Estimates Based On Finestructure Shearmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanisms for enhanced turbulence in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean

Merrifield¹

2016

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Storms modify baroclinic energy fluxes in a seasonally stratified shelf sea: Inertial‐tidal interaction

et al. 2014

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Observations made near the Celtic Sea shelf edge are used to investigate the interaction between wind-generated near-inertial oscillations and the semidiurnal internal tide. Linear, baroclinic energy fluxes within the near-inertial (f) and semidiurnal (M 2 ) wave bands are calculated from measurements of velocity and density structure at two moorings located 40 km from the internal tidal generation zone. Over the 2 week deployment period, the semidiurnal tide drove 28-48 W m 21 of energy directly onshelf. Little spring-neap variability could be detected. Horizontal near-inertial energy fluxes were an order of magnitude weaker, but nonlinear interaction between the vertical shear of inertial oscillations and the vertical velocity associated with the semidiurnal internal tide led to a 25-43% increase in positive on-shelf energy flux. The phase relationship between f and M 2 determines whether this nonlinear interaction enhances or dampens the linear tidal component of the flux, and introduces a 2 day counter-clockwise beating to the energy transport. Two very clear contrasting regimes of (a) tidally and (b) inertially driven shear and energy flux are captured in the observations.

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Finescale parameterizations of turbulent dissipation

Cited by 192 publications

References 107 publications

Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

Mechanisms for enhanced turbulence in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean

Storms modify baroclinic energy fluxes in a seasonally stratified shelf sea: Inertial‐tidal interaction

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