On the features of the dynamics of the upper mixed layer of the ocean in the presence of shear flows

Author(s):  
Irina Soustova ◽  
Daria Gladskikh ◽  
Yuliya Troitskaya ◽  
Lev Ostrovsky

<p>In the framework of the modernized RANS model of turbulent closure [1], the evolution in the pycnocline and shear flow in the upper mixed layer of the ocean is studied. For this purpose, one of the variants of the model situation is considered, which consists in studying the mutual transformation of the buoyancy frequency, shear flow, as well as the kinetic and potential turbulence energies determined at the initial time at different depths. It is shown that the kinetic energy of turbulence increases with time, and its maximum shifts to the maximum of the the horizontal shear flow. However, unlike the standard gradient scheme, in the beginning there is a mutual transformation of the kinetic and potential turbulence energies, after which they quickly reach a stationary equilibrium level (at large values of the Richardson numbers). A significant change in stratification, initially having a maximum at a certain depth, was also found in the process of establishing a stationary turbulence regime.</p><p>The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects № 18-05-00292, 18-35-00602).</p><p>References:</p><p>1. Ostrovsky, L.A., Troitskaya, Yu.I., The model of turbulent transport and the dynamics of turbulence in a stratified shear flow/ Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics., 1987. v.3. pp. 1031–1040</p>

2000 ◽  
Vol 406 ◽  
pp. 337-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. ENGEVIK

The instabilities of a free surface shear flow are considered, with special emphasis on the shear flow with the velocity profile U* = U*0sech2 (by*). This velocity profile, which is found to model very well the shear flow in the wake of a hydrofoil, has been focused on in previous studies, for instance by Dimas & Triantyfallou who made a purely numerical investigation of this problem, and by Longuet-Higgins who simplified the problem by approximating the velocity profile with a piecewise-linear profile to make it amenable to an analytical treatment. However, none has so far recognized that this problem in fact has a very simple solution which can be found analytically; that is, the stability boundaries, i.e. the boundaries between the stable and the unstable regions in the wavenumber (k)–Froude number (F)-plane, are given by simple algebraic equations in k and F. This applies also when surface tension is included. With no surface tension present there exist two distinct regimes of unstable waves for all values of the Froude number F > 0. If 0 < F [Lt ] 1, then one of the regimes is given by 0 < k < (1 − F2/6), the other by F−2 < k < 9F−2, which is a very extended region on the k-axis. When F [Gt ] 1 there is one small unstable region close to k = 0, i.e. 0 < k < 9/(4F2), the other unstable region being (3/2)1/2F−1 < k < 2 + 27/(8F2). When surface tension is included there may be one, two or even three distinct regimes of unstable modes depending on the value of the Froude number. For small F there is only one instability region, for intermediate values of F there are two regimes of unstable modes, and when F is large enough there are three distinct instability regions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Piontkovski ◽  
Khalid Al Hashmi ◽  
Yuliya Zagorodnaya ◽  
Irina Serikova ◽  
Vladislav Evstigneev ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Seasonal variability is a powerful component of the spatio-temporal dynamics of plankton communities, especially in the regions with oxygen-depleted waters. The Arabian Sea and the Black Sea are typical representatives of these regions. In both, the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid &amp; Swezy, 1921, is one of the abundant plankton species which forms algal blooms. Sampling on coastal stations in the upper mixed layer by the plankton nets with the 120-140 &amp;#181;m mesh size was carried out in 2004-2010. Monthly data were averaged over years. A comparison of seasonal patterns of Noctiluca abundance pointed to the persistence of a bimodal seasonal cycle in both regions. The major peak was observed during spring in the Black Sea and during the winter (Northeast) monsoon in the Arabian Sea. The timing of the second (minor) peak was different over regions as well. This peak was modulated by advection of seasonally fluctuating velocity of coastal currents which transport waters enriched by nutrients by coastal upwelling. The abundance of Noctiluca of the major peak (with the concentration around 1.5*10&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt; cells m&lt;sup&gt;-3&lt;/sup&gt;) was from one to two orders as much high in the western Arabian Sea compared to the northern Black Sea. The remotely sensed chlorophyll-a concentration during the time of the major seasonal peak exhibited a fivefold difference over these regions. In terms of nutrient&lt;sub&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;concentration in the upper mixed layer (in particular, nitrates and silicates), a difference of about one order of magnitude was observed.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Gladskikh ◽  
Evgeny Mortikov ◽  
Victor Stepanenko

&lt;p&gt;The study of thermodynamic and biochemical processes of inland water objects using one- and three-dimensional RANS numerical models was carried out both for idealized water bodies and using measurements data. The need to take into account seiche oscillations to correctly reproduce the deepening of the upper mixed layer in one-dimensional (vertical) models is demonstrated. We considered the one-dimensional LAKE model [1] and the three-dimensional model [2, 3, 4] developed at the Research Computing Center of Moscow State University on the basis of a hydrodynamic code combining DNS/LES/RANS approaches for calculating geophysical turbulent flows. The three-dimensional model was supplemented by the equations for calculating biochemical substances by analogy with the one-dimensional biochemistry equations used in the LAKE model. The effect of mixing processes on the distribution of concentration of greenhouse gases, in particular, methane and oxygen, was studied.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The work was supported by grants of the RF President&amp;#8217;s Grant for Young Scientists (MK-1867.2020.5, MD-1850.2020.5) and by the RFBR (19-05-00249, 20-05-00776).&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Stepanenko V., Mammarella I., Ojala A., Miettinen H., Lykosov V., Timo V. LAKE 2.0: a model for temperature, methane, carbon dioxide and oxygen dynamics in lakes // Geoscientific Model Development. 2016. V. 9(5). P. 1977&amp;#8211;2006.&lt;br&gt;2. Mortikov E.V., Glazunov A.V., Lykosov V.N. Numerical study of plane Couette flow: turbulence statistics and the structure of pressure-strain correlations // Russian Journal of Numerical Analysis and Mathematical Modelling. 2019. 34(2). P. 119-132.&lt;br&gt;3. Mortikov, E.V. Numerical simulation of the motion of an ice keel in stratified flow // Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 2016. V. 52. P. 108-115.&lt;br&gt;4. Gladskikh D.S., Stepanenko V.M., Mortikov E.V. On the influence of the horizontal dimensions of inland waters on the thickness of the upper mixed layer // Water Resourses. 2021.V. 45, 9 pages. (in press)&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 2317-2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bowen Zhou ◽  
Shiwei Sun ◽  
Kai Yao ◽  
Kefeng Zhu

Abstract Turbulent mixing in the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) is carried out by organized nonlocal updrafts and smaller local eddies. In the upper mixed layer of the CBL, heat fluxes associated with nonlocal updrafts are directed up the local potential temperature gradient. To reproduce such countergradient behavior in parameterizations, a class of planetary boundary layer schemes adopts a countergradient correction term in addition to the classic downgradient eddy-diffusion term. Such schemes are popular because of their simple formulation and effective performance. This study reexamines those schemes to investigate the physical representations of the gradient and countergradient (GCG) terms, and to rebut the often-implied association of the GCG terms with heat fluxes due to local and nonlocal (LNL) eddies. To do so, large-eddy simulations (LESs) of six idealized CBL cases are performed. The GCG fluxes are computed a priori with horizontally averaged LES data, while the LNL fluxes are diagnosed through conditional sampling and Fourier decomposition of the LES flow field. It is found that in the upper mixed layer, the gradient term predicts downward fluxes in the presence of positive mean potential temperature gradient but is compensated by the upward countergradient correction flux, which is larger than the total heat flux. However, neither downward local fluxes nor larger-than-total nonlocal fluxes are diagnosed from LES. The difference reflects reduced turbulence efficiency for GCG fluxes and, in terms of physics, conceptual deficiencies in the GCG representation of CBL heat fluxes.


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