A note on Stokes production of turbulence kinetic energy in the oceanic mixed layer: observations in the Baltic Sea

Shear- and convection-driven turbulence coexists with wind-generated surface gravity waves in the upper ocean. The turbulent Reynolds stresses in the oceanic mixed layer can therefore interact with the shear of the wave-generated Stokes drift velocity to extract energy from the surface waves and inject it into turbulence, thus augmenting the mean shear-driven turbulence. Stokes production of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) is difficult to measure in the field, since it requires simultaneous measurement of the turbulent stress and the Stokes drift profiles in the water column. However, it is readily inferred using second moment closure models of the oceanic mixed layer provided: (1) wave properties are available, along with the usual water mass properties, and radiative and air–sea fluxes needed to drive the mixed layer model and (2) the model skill can be assessed by comparing the model results against the observed dissipation rates of TKE. Comprehensive measurements made during the Reynolds 2002 campaign in the Baltic Sea have made the estimation of Stokes production possible, and in this paper, we report on the effort and the conclusions reached. Measurements of air–sea exchange parameters and water mass properties during the campaign allowed a mixed layer model to be run and the turbulent stress in the water column to be inferred. Simultaneous wave spectrum measurements enabled Stokes drift profile to be deduced and wave breaking to be included in the model run, and the Stokes production of TKE in the water column estimated. Direct measurements of the TKE dissipation rate from an upward traversing microstructure profiler were used to assure that the model could reproduce the turbulent dissipation rate in the water column. The model results indicate that the Stokes production of TKE in the mixed layer is of the same order of magnitude as the shear production and must therefore be included in mixed layer models.