PS23A:
Recent Advancements in Stratified Turbulent Mixing II


Session ID#: 36932

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:  Jeffrey R Koseff, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States and Stephen G Monismith, 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:

Rapid temporal evolution of shear instabilities revealed with multi-beam sonar (318687)
W Rockwell Geyer1, Andone C Lavery2 and EeShann Bhatt2, (1)Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole, MA, United States, (2)Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, AOP&E, Woods Hole, MA, United States
Stratified Shear Instability in a Field of Pre-Existing Turbulence (307418)
Alexis Kaminski and William Smyth, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
Marginally unstable shear flows in the upper equatorial oceans (318931)
William Smyth, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States, Hieu T Pham, University of California San Diego, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, La Jolla, CA, United States, Jim Moum, Oregon State University, College of Earth Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Corvalis, OR, United States and Sutanu Sarkar, Univ California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Distinctions in Turbulence Between Atlantic and Pacific Equatorial Cold Tongues: Inferences from Several Years of Moored Mixing Measurements (320930)
Jim Moum1, Emily Shroyer2, Jonathan D Nash2, Sally J Warner3, Johannes Becherer4, Peter Brandt5 and Bernard Bourles6, (1)Oregon State University, CEOAS, Corvallis, OR, United States, (2)Oregon State Univ, Corvallis, OR, United States, (3)Oregon State Univeristy, COAS, Corvallis, OR, United States, (4)Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, OR, United States, (5)GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany, (6)Centre IRD de Brest, Plouzané, France
Enhanced Dissipation of Near-Inertial Waves in Mesoscale Vertical Vorticity and Shear (323261)
Thomas Bayes Sanford1, Barry Binbing Ma2, Matthew H Alford3, Oliver M Sun4, Andrew Lucas3 and Robert Pinkel5, (1)Univ Washington, Applied Physics Lab, Seattle, WA, United States, (2)Applied Physics Laboratory University of Washington, Seattle, United States, (3)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, (4)Naval Undersea Warfare Center, United States, (5)Univ California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Evolution of Turbulent Processes Affecting Oceanic Near Surface Stratification in Response to a Storm (317956)
Natasha Sarah Lucas1, Alan L Grant2, Tom Philip Rippeth3, Jeff Polton4, Matthew Palmer4, Mark Inall5, Liam Brannigan6, Stephen E Belcher7 and Tim Boyd8, (1)Bangor University, School of Ocean Sciences, Menai Bridge, United Kingdom, (2)University of Reading, Reading, RG6, United Kingdom, (3)Bangor University, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom, (4)National Oceanography Center, Liverpool, United Kingdom, (5)Scottish Association for Marine Science, Argyll, United Kingdom, (6)Stockholm University, MISU, Stockholm, Sweden, (7)Univ Reading, Reading, United Kingdom, (8)Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), United Kingdom
Observations of Microstructure in the Loop Current Using Slocum Gliders (326888)
Christian Nygren1, Steven Francis DiMarco2, Zhankun Wang3, Binbin Wang1 and Kurt L Polzin4, (1)Texas A&M University College Station, College Station, TX, United States, (2)Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, United States, (3)Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States, (4)WHOI, Woods Hole, MA, United States

See more of: Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller