AESOP DRI: An Integrated Modeling and Observational Study of Three- Dimensional Upper Ocean Boundary Layer Dynamics and Parameterizations

摘要

Physically-based parameterizations of vertical mixed layer fluxes in ocean models characterize turbulent mixing at length scales smaller than the layer depth, but do not address the dynamics of unresolved submesoscale horizontal mixing processes below their O(0.1)-O(10) km horizontal resolution scale. Modeling work carried out as part of this AESOP DRI has focused on surface boundary layer horizontal mixing processes in regions of significant horizontal variability, as commonly found in frontal regions. This study seeks to quantify the coupling between mixed layer vertical fluxes and the dynamics of lateral mixing by submesoscale coherent structures.