Area T: Turbulence and boundary layer
In Area T oceanographers and meteorologists work on small-scale turbulent and boundary layer processes in ocean and atmosphere. The term boundary layer describes the areas at the top or bottom in the ocean or atmosphere. The focus in Area T is on the boundary layer processes at the ocean's surface and bottom boundaries.
Objectives
Combining experiments with simulations
Scientists in Area T use experiments as well as simulations to investigate the ocean and atmosphere. High-resolution measurements are used e.g. to construct horizontal and vertical wavenumber power spectra or to construct energetically consistent parameterizations of energy transfers. Furthermore, observations with high-resolution data and simulations help assessing the mixing processes active in a descending gravity plume.
Specific research questions in Area T are:
- How to quantify and parameterise stratified turbulence in the atmosphere?
- What are processes, energy transfers and interactions between small-scale turbulence, gravity waves and eddies in the surface and bottom boundary layers of the ocean?
Publications
Merckelbach, L., A. Berger, G. Krahmann, M. Dengler and J. R. Carpenter (2019). A dynamic flight model for Slocum gliders and implications for turbulence microstructure measurements. J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., Vol. 36 (2), 281-296, doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-18-0168.1.
Smyth, W. D. and J. Carpenter (2019). Instability in Geophysical Flows, Camb. Univ. Press., doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108640084.
Schaefer-Rolffs, U. (2019). Corrigendum to: The scale invariance criterion for geophysical fluids. Eur. J. Mech. B-Fluid, 78, 147–149, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechflu.2019.06.003.
Moritz, M., Jochumsen, K., North, R. P., Quadfasel, D. & Valdimarsson, H. (2019). Mesoscale Eddies observed at the Denmark Strait sill. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015273.
Dippner, J. W., Bartl, I., Chrysagi, E., Holtermann, P. L., Kremp, A., Thoms, F. & Voss, M. (2019). Lagrangian Residence Time in the Bay of Gdansk, Baltic Sea. Front. Marine Sci., 6, 725 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00725.
Burchard, H. (2020). A universal law of estuarine mixing. J. Phys.Oceanogr., 50(1), 81-93. , https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0014.1 .
Schultze, L. K., Merckelbach, L. M., & Carpenter, J. R. (2020). Storm‐induced turbulence alters shelf sea vertical fluxes. Limn. Oceanogr. Lett., https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10139 .
Peng, J.-P., Holtermann, P. & Umlauf, L. (2020). Frontal instability and energy dissipation in a submesoscale upwelling filament. J. Phys. Oceanogr., doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0270.1.
Buckley, M., Veron, F. & Yousef, K. (2020). Surface viscous stress over wind-driven waves with intermittent airflow separation, J. Fluid Mech. 905(31), doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2020.760.
Carpenter, J. R. , Rodrigues, A., Schultze, L. K. P., Merckelbach, L. M., Suzuki, N., Baschek, B. & Umlauf, L. (2020). Shear Instability and Turbulence Within a Submesoscale Front Following a Storm. Geophys. Res. Lett., doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090365.