A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer
The turbulent mixing in thin ocean surface boundary layers (OSBL), which occupy the upper 100m or so of the ocean, control the exchange of heat and trace gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Here we show that current parameterizations of this turbulent mixing lead to systematic and substantial er...
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/4/Belcher_etal_Polton12_GRL.pdf |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:20151 2023-05-15T18:25:33+02:00 A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer Belcher, Stephen E. Grant, Alan A.L.M. Hanley, Kirsty E. Fox-Kemper, Baylor Van Roekel, Luke Sullivan, Peter P. Large, William G. Brown, Andy Hines, Adrian Calvert, Daley Rutgersson, Anna Pettersson, Heidi Bidlot, Jean-Raymond Janssen, Peter A.E.M. Polton, Jeff A. 2012 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/4/Belcher_etal_Polton12_GRL.pdf en eng AGU https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/4/Belcher_etal_Polton12_GRL.pdf Belcher, Stephen E.; Grant, Alan A.L.M.; Hanley, Kirsty E.; Fox-Kemper, Baylor; Van Roekel, Luke; Sullivan, Peter P.; Large, William G.; Brown, Andy; Hines, Adrian; Calvert, Daley; Rutgersson, Anna; Pettersson, Heidi; Bidlot, Jean-Raymond; Janssen, Peter A.E.M.; Polton, Jeff A. orcid:0000-0003-0131-5250 . 2012 A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer. Geophysical Research Letters, 39. L18605. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932> Marine Sciences Earth Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932 2023-02-04T19:32:43Z The turbulent mixing in thin ocean surface boundary layers (OSBL), which occupy the upper 100m or so of the ocean, control the exchange of heat and trace gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Here we show that current parameterizations of this turbulent mixing lead to systematic and substantial errors in the depth of the OSBL in global climate models, which then leads to biases in sea surface temperature. One reason, we argue, is that current parameterizations are missing key surface-wave processes that force Langmuir turbulence that deepens the OSBL more rapidly than steady wind forcing. Scaling arguments are presented to identify two dimensionless parameters that measure the importance of wave forcing against wind forcing, and against buoyancy forcing. A global perspective on the occurrence of wave-forced turbulence is developed using re-analysis data to compute these parameters globally. The diagnostic study developed here suggests that turbulent energy available for mixing the OSBL is under-estimated without forcing by surface waves. Wave-forcing and hence Langmuir turbulence could be important over wide areas of the ocean and in all seasons in the Southern Ocean. We conclude that surface-wave-forced Langmuir turbulence is an important process in the OSBL that requires parameterization. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Southern Ocean Langmuir ENVELOPE(-67.150,-67.150,-66.967,-66.967) Geophysical Research Letters 39 18 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
topic |
Marine Sciences Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Earth Sciences Belcher, Stephen E. Grant, Alan A.L.M. Hanley, Kirsty E. Fox-Kemper, Baylor Van Roekel, Luke Sullivan, Peter P. Large, William G. Brown, Andy Hines, Adrian Calvert, Daley Rutgersson, Anna Pettersson, Heidi Bidlot, Jean-Raymond Janssen, Peter A.E.M. Polton, Jeff A. A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences Earth Sciences |
description |
The turbulent mixing in thin ocean surface boundary layers (OSBL), which occupy the upper 100m or so of the ocean, control the exchange of heat and trace gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Here we show that current parameterizations of this turbulent mixing lead to systematic and substantial errors in the depth of the OSBL in global climate models, which then leads to biases in sea surface temperature. One reason, we argue, is that current parameterizations are missing key surface-wave processes that force Langmuir turbulence that deepens the OSBL more rapidly than steady wind forcing. Scaling arguments are presented to identify two dimensionless parameters that measure the importance of wave forcing against wind forcing, and against buoyancy forcing. A global perspective on the occurrence of wave-forced turbulence is developed using re-analysis data to compute these parameters globally. The diagnostic study developed here suggests that turbulent energy available for mixing the OSBL is under-estimated without forcing by surface waves. Wave-forcing and hence Langmuir turbulence could be important over wide areas of the ocean and in all seasons in the Southern Ocean. We conclude that surface-wave-forced Langmuir turbulence is an important process in the OSBL that requires parameterization. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belcher, Stephen E. Grant, Alan A.L.M. Hanley, Kirsty E. Fox-Kemper, Baylor Van Roekel, Luke Sullivan, Peter P. Large, William G. Brown, Andy Hines, Adrian Calvert, Daley Rutgersson, Anna Pettersson, Heidi Bidlot, Jean-Raymond Janssen, Peter A.E.M. Polton, Jeff A. |
author_facet |
Belcher, Stephen E. Grant, Alan A.L.M. Hanley, Kirsty E. Fox-Kemper, Baylor Van Roekel, Luke Sullivan, Peter P. Large, William G. Brown, Andy Hines, Adrian Calvert, Daley Rutgersson, Anna Pettersson, Heidi Bidlot, Jean-Raymond Janssen, Peter A.E.M. Polton, Jeff A. |
author_sort |
Belcher, Stephen E. |
title |
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
title_short |
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
title_full |
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
title_fullStr |
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
title_full_unstemmed |
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
title_sort |
global perspective on langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer |
publisher |
AGU |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/4/Belcher_etal_Polton12_GRL.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.150,-67.150,-66.967,-66.967) |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Langmuir |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Langmuir |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20151/4/Belcher_etal_Polton12_GRL.pdf Belcher, Stephen E.; Grant, Alan A.L.M.; Hanley, Kirsty E.; Fox-Kemper, Baylor; Van Roekel, Luke; Sullivan, Peter P.; Large, William G.; Brown, Andy; Hines, Adrian; Calvert, Daley; Rutgersson, Anna; Pettersson, Heidi; Bidlot, Jean-Raymond; Janssen, Peter A.E.M.; Polton, Jeff A. orcid:0000-0003-0131-5250 . 2012 A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer. Geophysical Research Letters, 39. L18605. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052932 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
18 |
_version_ |
1766207081078063104 |