The upper layer of the ocean participates directly in the exchange of momentum, heat and moisture with the atmosphere. We consider three examples of upper-ocean flow and heat transfer in the present contribution. These examples illustrate wind-driven entrainment in a stratified fluid, stratified shear flow turbulence and its response to surface forcing, and the lateral circulation in a frontal jet between two water masses of different density that develops into a gravity current. Our tool is large eddy simulation (LES) which is increasingly being used to examine turbulent transport and mixing in the ocean. We discuss how buoyancy and rotation affects the spatial structure and temporal evolution of turbulent fluxes, and thereby the distribution of momentum and heat in the upper ocean.
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