scholarly journals Overlapping boundary layers in coastal oceans

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Finite Depth ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Surface Boundary ◽  
Vertical Column ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers ◽  
Langmuir Circulations

Abstract Boundary layer turbulence in coastal regions differs from that in deep ocean because of bottom interactions. In this paper, we focus on the merging of surface and bottom boundary layers in a finite-depth coastal ocean by numerically solving the wave-averaged equations using a large eddy simulation method. The ocean fluid is driven by combined effects of wind stress, surface wave, and a steady current in the presence of stable vertical stratification. The resulting flow consists of two overlapping boundary layers, i.e. surface and bottom boundary layers, separated by an interior stratification. The overlapping boundary layers evolve through three phases, i.e. a rapid deepening, an oscillatory equilibrium and a prompt merger, separated by two transitions. Before the merger, internal waves are observed in the stratified layer, and they are excited mainly by Langmuir turbulence in the surface boundary layer. These waves induce a clear modulation on the bottom-generated turbulence, facilitating the interaction between the surface and bottom boundary layers. After the merger, the Langmuir circulations originally confined to the surface layer are found to grow in size and extend down to the sea bottom (even though the surface waves do not feel the bottom), reminiscent of the well-organized Langmuir supercells. These full-depth Langmuir circulations promote the vertical mixing and enhance the bottom shear, leading to a significant enhancement of turbulence levels in the vertical column.

Diffusive boundary layers over varying topography

2015 ◽  
Vol 769 ◽  
pp. 635-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Dell ◽  
L. J. Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Ocean Modeling ◽  
Bottom Slope ◽  
Regional Ocean Modeling System ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Roms Model ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers ◽  
Diffusive Boundary

Diffusive bottom boundary layers can produce upslope flows in a stratified fluid. Accumulating observations suggest that these boundary layers may drive upwelling and mixing in mid-ocean ridge flank canyons. However, most studies of diffusive bottom boundary layers to date have concentrated on constant bottom slopes. We present a study of how diffusive boundary layers interact with various idealized topography, such as changes in bottom slope, slopes with corrugations and isolated sills. We use linear theory and numerical simulations in the regional ocean modeling system (ROMS) model to show changes in bottom slope can cause convergences and divergences within the boundary layer, in turn causing fluid exchanges that reach far into the overlying fluid and alter stratification far from the bottom. We also identify several different regimes of boundary-layer behaviour for topography with oceanographically relevant size and shape, including reversing flows and overflows, and we develop a simple theory that predicts the regime boundaries, including what topographies will generate overflows. As observations also suggest there may be overflows in deep canyons where the flow passes over isolated bumps and sills, this parameter range may be particularly significant for understanding the role of boundary layers in the deep ocean.

scholarly journals NUMERICAL MODELING OF A TURBULENT BOTTOM BOUNDARY LAYER UNDER SOLITARY WAVES ON A SMOOTH SURFACE

2018 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Ahmad Sana ◽  
Hitoshi Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Solitary Waves ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layer ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Sediment Movement ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers ◽  
Turbulent Models

A number of studies on bottom boundary layers under sinusoidal and cnoidal waves were carried out in the past owing to the role of bottom shear stress on coastal sediment movement. In recent years, the bottom boundary layers under long waves have attracted considerable attention due to the occurrence of huge tsunamis and corresponding sediment movement. In the present study two-equation turbulent models proposed by Menter(1994) have been applied to a bottom boundary layer under solitary waves. A comparison has been made for cross-stream velocity profile and other turbulence properties in x-direction.

scholarly journals Nongeostrophic Baroclinic Instability over Sloping Bathymetry: Buoyant Flow Regime

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1937-1956
Author(s):  
Lixin Qu ◽  
Robert Hetland
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Flow Regime ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Buoyant Flow ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers

AbstractBaroclinic instabilities are important processes that enhance mixing and dispersion in the ocean. The presence of sloping bathymetry and the nongeostrophic effect influence the formation and evolution of baroclinic instabilities in oceanic bottom boundary layers and in coastal waters. This study explores two nongeostrophic baroclinic instability theories adapted to the scenario with sloping bathymetry and investigates the mechanism of the instability suppression (reduction in growth rate) in the buoyant flow regime. Both the two-layer and continuously stratified models reveal that the suppression is related to a new parameter, slope-relative Burger number Sr ≡ (M2/f2)(α + αp), where M2 is the horizontal buoyancy gradient, α is the bathymetry slope, and αp is the isopycnal slope. In the layer model, the instability growth rate linearly decreases with increasing Sr {the bulk form Sr = [U0/(H0f)](α + αp)}. In the continuously stratified model, the instability suppression intensifies with increasing Sr when the regime shifts from quasigeostrophic to nongeostrophic. The adapted theories are intrinsically applicable to deep ocean bottom boundary layers and could be conditionally applied to coastal buoyancy-driven flow. The slope-relative Burger number is related to the Richardson number by Sr = δrRi−1, where the slope-relative parameter is δr = (α + αp)/αp. Since energetic fronts in coastal zones are often characterized by low Ri, that implies potentially higher values of Sr, which is why baroclinic instabilities may be suppressed in the energetic regions where they would otherwise be expected to be ubiquitous according to the quasigeostrophic theory.

scholarly journals MODELING TURBULENT BOTTOM BOUNDARY LAYER DYNAMICS

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (20) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.P. Sheng
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Simple Model ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Turbulent Transport ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
Boundary Layer Dynamics

This paper presents a modeling approach aimed at solving a complete hierarchy of turbulent bottom boundary layers which are often encountered in practical coastal and oceanographic engineering problems. The practical problem is extremely complex due to the presence and interaction of competing processes. A comprehensive model is thus needed to first provide fundamental understanding of a variety of turbulent bottom boundary layers before any simple model for the complex problem can be meaningfully constructed. This paper presents a comprehensive second-order closure model of turbulent transport and in addition, discusses some applications of the model to wave boundary layer, wave-current boundary layer, sediment-laden boundary layer and two-dimensional boundary layer. Example is provided to show how such a comprehensive model may be used to guide the development of a simple model.

Bottom Boundary Layers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Henderson ◽  
Jeffrey R. Nielson
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layers

scholarly journals Stratified Inertial Subrange Inferred from In Situ Measurements in the Bottom Boundary Layer of the Rockall Channel

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2401-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot ◽  
Hans van Haren ◽  
M. Pascale Lelong
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Energy Dissipation Rate ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layer ◽  
Inertial Subrange ◽  
Buoyancy Frequency ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Taylor Hypothesis

Abstract Deep-ocean high-resolution moored temperature data are analyzed with a focus on superbuoyant frequencies. A local Taylor hypothesis based on the horizontal velocity averaged over 2 h is used to infer horizontal wavenumber spectra of temperature variance. The inertial subrange extends over fairly low horizontal wavenumbers, typically within 2 × 10−3 and 2 × 10−1 cycles per minute (cpm). It is therefore interpreted as a stratified inertial subrange for most of this wavenumber interval, whereas in some cases the convective inertial subrange is resolved as well. Kinetic energy dissipation rate ε is inferred using theoretical expressions for the stratified inertial subrange. A wide range of values within 10−9 and 4 × 10−7 m2 s−3 is obtained for time periods either dominated by semidiurnal tides or by significant subinertial variability. A scaling for ε that depends on the potential energy within the inertio-gravity waves (IGW) frequency band PEIGW and the buoyancy frequency N is proposed for these two cases. When semidiurnal tides dominate, ε ≃ (PEIGWN)3/2, whereas ε ≃ PEIGWN in the presence of significant subinertial variability. This result is obtained for energy levels ranging from 1 to 30 times the Garrett–Munk energy level and is in contrast with classical finescale parameterization in which ε ∼ (PEIGW)2 that applies far from energy sources. The specificities of the stratified bottom boundary layer, namely a weak stratification, may account for this difference.

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