Magnetic Signatures of Fine-scale Processes in the Ocean Surface Layer

Abstract:

Fine-scale processes in the upper ocean turbulent boundary layer may have a measurable electromagnetic signature. In order to study magnetic signatures of these fine-scale processes, we have applied a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model combining a 3D computational fluid dynamics model and electromagnetic block, based on ANSYS Fluent software. In addition, the hydrodynamic component of the MHD model is coupled with a radar imaging algorithm, which potentially provides a link to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery. Capabilities of this model have been demonstrated using a simulation and observation of an internal wave soliton in the Straits of Florida, observed with in situ instrumentation (ADCP mooring) and COSMO Sky Med (SAR) satellite image. We have applied this model to study magnetic signatures of surface waves, freshwater lenses, spatially coherent organized motions in the near-surface layer of the ocean (Langmuir circulation and ramp-like structures), and bio-turbulence induced by diel vertical migrations of zooplankton in some areas of the ocean. Investigation of electromagnetic signatures in upper ocean processes offers a valuable new prospect in air-sea interaction.