Observations and models of the energy flux from the wind to mixed-layer inertial currents

Plueddemann, Albert J.; Farrar, J. Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.10.017

Cited by 120 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Studies which have used a mixed layer kinetic energy budget to study wind forcing often use a different formula to estimate the wind work in which the wind work is dependent on the time derivative of the wind stress (D'Asaro, 1985;Plueddemann and Farrar, 2006). Analysis done for this study demonstrated that the differences between the two formulations are small and do not affect the conclusions of this paper.…”

Section: Appendix B Estimation Of the Wind Work On Near-inertial Motionsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…There are three mixing mechanisms in the PWP model; one based on the gradient Richardson number, one based on the bulk Richardson number which acts solely at the base of the mixed layer, and one requiring the density profile to be statically stable. The PWP vertical mixing scheme has been shown to accurately capture the energy flux from the wind into mixed layer near-inertial motions in one dimensional simulations, because it allows for deepening of the mixed layer in response to wind forcing (Plueddemann and Farrar, 2006). The 3DPWP model has been used successfully to model the inertial response of the ocean to hurricane wind forcing (Price, 1983).…”

Section: Model Implementation 521 3dpwp Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The PWP model runs were carried out with a linear drag parameterization as in Plueddemann and Farrar (2006). This drag term represents exchanges of momentum and energy between the base of the modeled layer and the ocean below beyond those associated with mixing in the transition layer.…”

Section: Appendix B Estimation Of the Wind Work On Near-inertial Motionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…shown that the slab model can overestimate the work done by the wind due to its simple linear parameterization of dissipative processes at the base of the mixed layer (Plueddemann and Farrar, 2006). The Price-Weller-Pinkel (PWP) mixed layer model appears to give a better estimate of the work done by the wind because it includes a transition layer below a slab-like mixed layer (Price et al, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Excitation of near-inertial motions by wind forcing has been examined extensively in both modeling and observational studies (Pollard and Millard, 1970;D'Asaro, 1985;Plueddemann and Farrar, 2006). Time-varying wind stress on the ocean surface can drive inertial mixed layer currents that, in the presence of spatial inhomogeneities of these currents, can force downward propagating near-inertial internal waves at the base of the mixed layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Near-inertial and thermal upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean

Silverthorne¹

2010

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Observational and modeling techniques are employed to investigate the thermal and inertial upper ocean response to wind and buoyancy forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean. First, the seasonal kinetic energy variability of near-inertial motions observed with a moored profiler is described. Observed wintertime enhancement and surface intensification of near-inertial kinetic energy support previous work suggesting that near-inertial motions are predominantly driven by surface forcing. The wind energy input into surface ocean near-inertial motions is estimated using the Price-WellerPinkel (PWP) one-dimensional mixed layer model. A localized depth-integrated model consisting of a wind forcing term and a dissipation parameterization is developed and shown to have skill capturing the seasonal cycle and order of magnitude of the near-inertial kinetic energy. Focusing in on wintertime storm passage, velocity and density records from drifting profiling floats (EM-APEX) and a meteorological spar buoy/tethered profiler system (ASIS/FILIS) deployed in the Gulf Stream in February 2007 as part of the CLIvar MOde water Dynamics Experiment (CLIMODE) were analyzed. Despite large surface heat loss during cold air outbreaks and the drifting nature of the instruments, changes in the upper ocean heat content were found in a mixed layer heat balance to be controlled primarily by the relative advection of temperature associated with the strong vertical shear of the Gulf Stream. Velocity records from the Gulf Stream exhibited energetic near-inertial oscillations with frequency that was shifted below the local resting inertial frequency. This depression of frequency was linked to the presence of the negative vorticity of the background horizontal current shear, implying the potential for near-inertial wave trapping in the Gulf Stream region through the mechanism described by Kunze and Sanford (1984). Three-dimensional PWP model simulations show evidence of near-inertial wave trapping in the Gulf Stream jet, and are used to quantify the resulting mixing and the effect on the stratification in the Eighteen Degree Water formation region.

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Section: Appendix B Estimation Of the Wind Work On Near-inertial Motionsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Model Implementation 521 3dpwp Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Appendix B Estimation Of the Wind Work On Near-inertial Motionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Near-inertial and thermal upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean

Silverthorne¹

2010

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On the spatial and temporal distribution of near‐inertial energy in the Southern Ocean

2014

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We use an eddying realistic primitive-equation model of the Southern Ocean to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of near-inertial wind-power input (WPI) and near-inertial energy (NIE) in the Southern Ocean. We find that the modeled near-inertial WPI is almost proportional to inertial wind-stress variance (IWSV), while the modeled NIE is modulated by the inverse of the mixed-layer depth. We go on to assess recent decadal trends of near-inertial WPI from trends of IWSV based on reanalysis wind stress. Averaged over the Southern Ocean, annual-mean IWSV is found to have increased by 16% over the years 1979–2011. Part of the increase of IWSV is found to be related to the positive trend of the Southern-Annular Mode over the same period. Finally, we show that there are horizontal local maxima of NIE at depth that are almost exclusively associated with anticyclonic eddies

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Near‐inertial kinetic energy budget of the mixed layer and shear evolution in the transition layer in the Arabian Sea during the monsoons

et al. 2015

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We present the horizontal kinetic energy (KE) balance of near-inertial currents in the mixed layer and explain shear evolution in the transition layer using observations from a mooring at 15.268 N in the Arabian Sea during the southwest monsoon. The highly sheared and stratified transition layer at the mixed-layer base varies between 5 m and 35 m and correlates negatively with the wind stress. Results from the mixed layer near-inertial KE (NIKE) balance suggest that wind energy at times can energize the transition layer and at other times is fully utilized within the mixed layer. A simple two layer model is utilized to study the shear evolution in the transition layer and shown to match well with observations. The shear production in this model arises from alignment of wind stress and shear. Although the winds are unidirectional during the monsoon, the shear in the transition layer is predominantly near-inertial. The near-inertial shear bursts in the observations show the same phasing and magnitude at near-inertial frequencies as the wind-shear alignment term.

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Observations and models of the energy flux from the wind to mixed-layer inertial currents

Cited by 120 publications

References 35 publications

Near-inertial and thermal upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean

Near-inertial and thermal upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean

On the spatial and temporal distribution of near‐inertial energy in the Southern Ocean

Near‐inertial kinetic energy budget of the mixed layer and shear evolution in the transition layer in the Arabian Sea during the monsoons

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