PS21A:
Recent Advancements in Stratified Turbulent Mixing I


Session ID#: 36926

Session Description:
This session will explore recent developments in understanding mixing in stratified turbulent shear flows and its role in ocean circulation. The significance of mixing to the ocean energy cycle has long been recognized. While pioneering work developed a basic understanding of turbulence generated by shear instabilities and its efficiency in overcoming stable stratification, significant advancements have been made in recent years. A new framework based on the concept of Available Potential Energy has shed light on the role of mixing in the ocean energy cycle and its efficiency in flows driven either by shear or convective overturning, both characteristic of intermittent ocean turbulence. Meanwhile, new mechanisms for the development of shear instabilities are being discovered through numerical modeling and observations. In addition, meta-analyses of increasingly resolved DNS and ocean microstructure are leading to improved mixing parameterizations for use in ocean models and interpreting observational data. The talks in this session will span theory, experiments, modeling, and observational approaches to discuss recent advancements, new techniques and outstanding questions in turbulent mixing. We encourage submissions focusing on mixing across a range of ocean scales and settings, including global, coastal and estuarine, and its influence on biogeochemical processes.
Primary Chair:  Brian L White, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Marine Sciences, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Co-chairs:  Stephen G Monismith, Stanford University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford, CA, United States and Jeffrey R Koseff, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Moderators:  Brian L White, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Science, Chapel Hill, NC, United States and Jeffrey R Koseff, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison:  Brian L White, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Science, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Index Terms:

4524 Fine structure and microstructure [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4532 General circulation [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4534 Hydrodynamic modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
Cross-Topics:
  • CD - Coastal Dynamics
  • E - Estuarine Processes
  • OM - Ocean Modeling
  • PO - Physical Oceanography: Other

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

On the Prediction of Diapycnal Mixing in Stably Stratified Turbulence (313834)
Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy, Colorado State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Fort Collins, CO, United States
Energetics of Mixing at Geophysical Scales (311653)
Alberto D Scotti, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Marine Sciences, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, Pierre-Yves Passaggia, UNC, Marine Science, Chapel Hill, NC, United States and Brian L White, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Goldilocks Mixing in Wave-Induced Stratified Turbulence (319853)
Colm-cille Patrick Caulfield1, Ali Mashayek2, Gunnar Voet2 and Matthew H Alford2, (1)University of Cambridge, BP Institute/Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge, United Kingdom, (2)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States
Mixing Efficiency in the Ocean (303646)
Michael Charles Gregg, Mercer Island, United States, Eric A. D'Asaro, University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory, Seattle, WA, United States, James J. Riley, University of Washington, Mechanical Engineering, WA, United States and Eric Kunze, Northwest Research Associates, Redmond, WA, United States
Diapycnal Mixing on Continental Shelves (318388)
Nicole L Jones1, Cynthia Bluteau2, Gregory N Ivey3, Jeffrey W Book4, Tamara Lillian Schlosser5, Matthew Rayson6 and Andrew Zhulberti5, (1)University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia, (2)Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada, (3)University Western Australia, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, Australia, (4)U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States, (5)University of Western Australia, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, Australia, (6)The University of Western Australia, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, Australia

See more of: Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller