Current and turbulence measurements at the FINO1 offshore wind energy site: analysis using 5-beam ADCPs

We report concurrent measurements of ocean currents and turbulence at two sites in the North Sea, one site at upwind of the FINO1 platform and the other 200-m downwind of the Alpha Ventus wind farm. At each site, mean currents, Reynolds stresses, turbulence intensity and production of turbulent kinetic energy are obtained from two bottom-mounted 5-beam Nortek Signature1000s, high-frequency Doppler current profiler, at a water depth of approximately 30 m. Measurements from the two sites are compared to statistically identify the effects of wind farm and waves on ocean current variability and the turbulent structure in the water column. Profiles of Reynolds stresses are found to be sensible to both environmental forcing and the wind farm wake-induced distortions in both boundary layers near the surface and the seabed. Production of turbulent kinetic energy and turbulence intensity exhibit approximately similar, but less pronounced, patterns in the presence of farm wake effects.     

Turbulence characteristics of flow past submerged vanes

Submerged vanes are hydrofoils utilized to manage the sediment transport through the river by generating the turbulence in the flow in the form of helical currents.The vanes are placed in the flow with respect to its direction at angle of 10°to 40°.In the current study,an attempt has been made to study the effect of the introduction of vanes in form of rows on parameters like turbulence intensities,Reynolds stresses,turbulent kinetic energy,anisotropy index,and the velocity profile of the flow.It is observed that the profile of variation of turbulence intensities,turbulent kinetic energy,vertical Reynolds stress and velocity over three different marked verticals on a transect are nearly identical whereas a large scatter is observed in the variation of transverse Reynolds stress over the vertical of the aforementioned vertical locations.This observation suggests that flow turbulence is homogeneous over the vertical while scattering in the variation of the transverse Reynolds stress component may be attributed to the presence of secondary currents in the flow.After introducing rows of submerged vanes,the bed turbulence is reduced,hence,helping reduce many scour related phenomenon.It is also observed that a vortex occurred at 0.85 times the height of the vane and the variation of turbulence quantities in the presence of vanes shows the existence of a peak in these quantities.It is observed that as flow moves away from the vane rows,due to the interaction of vortices and the action of vorticity,vortices dampens down and the flow regains homogeneity.After the introduction of submerged vane rows,bed shear stress reduces as fluid from the surface replaces the slow-moving fluid near the bed due to the secondary currents generated by the vanes leading to reduction in the magnitude of turbulence intensities,Reynolds stresses,and turbulent kinetic energy near the bed.The anisotropy index is observed to increase near the bed as induced secondary currents enhanced the turbulence production in the near bed region.All the profiles of parameters obtained in the current study show the existence of a peak or inflexions at a height of 0.85 H from bed(Where,H is the height of the submerged vane).Profiles of parameters obtained in the current study suggest that as the vorticity dampens the vane-generated secondary currents,the scattering in the profiles along the vertical reduces and profiles are observed to regain the variation which they had before the introduction of vane rows,suggesting that flow turbulence has regained its homogeneity.     

Turbulence structure in the upper ocean: a comparative study of observations and modeling

Observations of turbulent dissipation rates measured by two independent instruments are compared with numerical model runs to investigate the injection of turbulence generated by sea surface gravity waves. The near-surface observations are made by a moored autonomous instrument, fixed at approximately 8 m below the sea surface. The instrument is equipped with shear probes, a high-resolution pressure sensor, and an inertial motion package to measure time series of dissipation rate and nondirectional surface wave energy spectrum. A free-falling profiler is used additionally to collect vertical microstructure profiles in the upper ocean. For the model simulations, we use a one-dimensional mixed layer model based on a k–ε type second moment turbulence closure, which is modified to include the effects of wave breaking and Langmuir cells. The dissipation rates obtained using the modified k–ε model are elevated near the sea surface and in the upper water column, consistent with the measurements, mainly as a result of wave breaking at the surface, and energy drawn from wave field to the mean flow by Stokes drift. The agreement between observed and simulated turbulent quantities is fairly good, especially when the Stokes production is taken into account.     

Mechanisms controlling the seasonal mixed-layer temperature and salinity of the Indonesian seas

We examine the seasonal mixed-layer temperature (MLT) and salinity (MLS) budgets in the Banda–Arafura Seas region (120–138° E, 8–3° S) using an ECCO ocean-state estimation product. MLT in these seas is relatively high during November–May (austral spring through fall) and relatively low during June–September (austral winter and the period associated with the Asian summer monsoon). Surface heat flux makes the largest contribution to the seasonal MLT tendency, with significant reinforcement by subsurface processes, especially turbulent vertical mixing. Temperature declines (the MLT tendency is negative) in May–August when seasonal insolation is smallest and local winds are strong due to the southeast monsoon, which causes surface heat loss and cooling by vertical processes. In particular, Ekman suction induced by local wind stress curl raises the thermocline in the Arafura Sea, bringing cooler subsurface water closer to the base of the mixed layer where it is subsequently incorporated into the mixed layer through turbulent vertical mixing; this has a cooling effect. The MLT budget also has a small, but non-negligible, semi-annual component since insolation increases and winds weaken during the spring and fall monsoon transitions near the equator. This causes warming via solar heating, reduced surface heat loss, and weakened turbulent mixing compared to austral winter and, to a lesser extent, compared to austral summer. Seasonal MLS is dominated by ocean processes rather than by local freshwater flux. The contributions by horizontal advection and subsurface processes have comparable magnitudes. The results suggest that ocean dynamics play a significant part in determining both seasonal MLT and MLS in the region, such that coupled model studies of the region should use a full ocean model rather than a slab ocean mixed-layer model.     

Double funnelling in a mature coastal British Columbia forest: spatial patterns of stemflow after infiltration

Many studies have focused on the amount of stemflow in different forests and for different rainfall events, but few studies have focused on how stemflow intensity varies during events or the infiltration of stemflow into the soil. Stemflow may lead to higher water delivery rates at the base of the tree compared with throughfall over the same area and fast and deeper infiltration of this water along roots and other preferential flow pathways. In this study, stemflow amounts and intensities were measured and blue dye experiments were conducted in a mature coniferous forest in coastal British Columbia to examine double funnelling of stemflow. Stemflow accounted for only 1% of precipitation and increased linearly with event total precipitation. Funnelling ratios ranged from less than 1 to almost 20; smaller trees had larger funnelling ratios. Stemflow intensity generally was highest for periods with high‐intensity rainfall later in the event. The maximum stemflow intensities were higher than the maximum precipitation intensities. Dye tracer experiments showed that stemflow infiltrated primarily along roots and was found more frequently at depth than near the soil surface. Lateral flow of stemflow was observed above a dense clay layer for both the throughfall and stemflow experiments. Stemflow appeared to infiltrate deeper (122 cm) than throughfall (85 cm), but this difference was in part a result of site‐specific differences in maximum soil depth. However, the observed high stemflow intensities combined with preferential flow of stemflow may lead to enhanced subsurface stormflow. This suggests that even though stemflow is only a very minor component of the water balance, it may still significantly affect soil moisture, recharge, and runoff generation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Evaluating the hydrological and hydrochemical responses of a High Arctic catchment during an exceptionally warm summer

The Arctic has experienced substantial warming during the past century with models projecting continued warming accompanied by increases in summer precipitation for most regions. A key impact of increasing air surface temperatures is the deepening of the active layer, which is expected to alter hydrological processes and pathways. The aim of this study was to determine how one of the warmest and wettest summers in the past decade at a High Arctic watershed impacted water infiltration and storage in deeply thawed soil and solute concentrations in stream runoff during the thaw period. In June and July 2012 at the Cape Bounty Watershed Observatory, we combined active layer measurements with major ion concentrations and stable isotopes in surface waters to characterize the movement of different runoff sources: snowmelt, rainfall, and soil water. Results indicate that deep ground thaw enhanced the storage of infiltrated water following rainfall. Soil water from infiltrated rainfall flowed through the thawed transient layer and upper permafrost, which likely solubilized ions previously stored at depth. Subsequent rainfall events acted as a hydrological flushing mechanism, mobilizing solutes from the subsurface to the surface. This solute flushing substantially increased ion concentrations in stream runoff throughout mid to late July. Results further suggest the importance of rainfall and soil water as sources of runoff in a High Arctic catchment during mid to late summer as infiltrated snowmelt is drained from soil following baseflow. Although there was some evaporation of surface water, our study indicates that flushing from solute stores in the transient layer was the primary driver of increased ion concentrations in stream runoff and not evaporative concentration of surface water. With warmer and wetter summers projected for the Arctic, ion concentrations in runoff (especially in the late thaw season), will likely increase due to the deep storage and subsurface flow of infiltrated water and subsequent flushing of previously frozen solutes to the surface.     

Mean and turbulent flow fields in a simulated ice‐covered channel with a gravel bed: some laboratory observations

Northern rivers experience freeze‐up over the winter, creating asymmetric under‐ice flows. Field and laboratory measurements of under‐ice flows typically exhibit flow asymmetry and its characteristics depend on the presence of roughness elements on the ice cover underside. In this study, flume experiments of flows under a simulated ice cover are presented. Open water conditions and simulated rough ice‐covered flows are discussed. Mean flow and turbulent flow statistics were obtained from an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) above a gravel‐bed surface. A central region of faster flow develops in the middle portion of the flow with the addition of a rough cover. The turbulent flow characteristics are unambiguously different when simulated ice covered conditions are used. Two distinct boundary layers (near the bed and in the vicinity of the ice cover, near the water surface) are clearly identified, each being characterized by high turbulent intensity levels. Detailed profile measurements of Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy indicate that the turbulence structure is strongly influenced by the presence of an ice cover and its roughness characteristics. In general, for y/d > 0·4 (where y is height above bed and d is local flow depth), the addition of cover and its roughening tends to generate higher turbulent kinetic energy values in comparison to open water flows and Reynolds stresses become increasingly negative due to increased turbulence levels in the vicinity of the rough ice cover. The high negative Reynolds stresses not only indicate high turbulence levels created by the rough ice cover but also coherent flow structures where quadrants one and three dominate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variability of internally generated turbulence in an estuary,from 100 days of continuous observations

We present detailed observations of internally generated turbulence in a sheared, stratified natural flow, as well as an analysis of the external factors leading to its generation and temporal variability. Multi-month time series of vertical profiles of velocity, acoustic backscatter (0.5 Hz), and turbulence parameters were collected with two moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) in the Hudson River estuary, and estuary-long transects of water density were collected 30 times. ADCP backscatter is used for visualization of coherent turbulent structures and evaluation of surface wave biases to the turbulence measurements. Benefits of the continuous long-term turbulence record include our capturing: (1) the seasonality of turbulence due to changing riverflow, (2) hysteresis in stratification and turbulence over the fortnightly cycle of tidal range, and (3) intermittent events such as breaking internal waves. Internal mixing layers (IMLs) are defined as turbulent regions above the logarithmic velocity layer, and the bottom boundary layer (BBL) is defined as the continuously turbulent range of heights above the bed. A cross-correlation analysis reveals how IML and BBL turbulence vary with stratification and external forcing from tidal range, river flow, and winds. Turbulence in both layers is maximal at spring tide and minimal when most stratified, with one exception—IML turbulence at a site with changing channel depth and width is maximal at times of maximum stratification and freshwater input.     

Turbulence in the presence of internal waves in the bottom boundary layer of the California inner shelf

Turbulence measurements were collected in the bottom boundary layer of the California inner shelf near Point Sal, CA, for 2 months during summer 2015. The water column at Point Sal is stratified by temperature, and internal bores propagate through the region regularly. We collected velocity, temperature, and turbulence data on the inner shelf at a 30-m deep site. We estimated the turbulent shear production (P), turbulent dissipation rate (ε), and vertical diffusive transport (T), to investigate the near-bed local turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget. We observed that the local TKE budget showed an approximate balance (P?≈?ε) during the observational period, and that buoyancy generally did not affect the TKE balance. On a finer resolution timescale, we explored the balance between dissipation and models for production and observed that internal waves did not affect the balance in TKE at this depth.     

Turbulence avoidance and the wind-driven transport of plankton in the surface Ekman layer

Observations of turbulence avoidance in zooplankton are compared to estimates of the wind-driven turbulence in the upper ocean. Plankton that avoid wind-driven turbulence by moving deeper are no longer transported by the wind-driven Ekman currents near the surface because they are no longer near the surface. Here, a threshold level of turbulence that triggers an avoidance response is estimated, and is used to infer the wind speed and water column stratification conditions that would lead to zooplankton leaving the Ekman layer. Turbulence avoidance is argued to lead to near-shore retention in wind-driven upwelling systems, and to a reduction of the delivery of zooplankton to Georges Bank from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine.     

The effects of vertical viscosity coefficients with different distribution characteristics on classical Ekman spiral structure

The classical Ekman theory tells us that the ocean surface current turns to the right(left) side of wind direction with 45° in the north(south) hemisphere,but the observation and research results show that the surface current deflexion angle is smaller than 45° in the Arctic and high latitude areas while larger than 45° in the low latitude areas.In order to explain these phenomena,a series of idealized numerical experiments are designed to investigate the influence of vertical viscosity coefficients with different vertical distribution characteristics on the classical and steady Ekman spiral structure.Results show that when the vertical viscosity coefficient decreases with water depth,the surface current deflexion angle is larger than 45°,whereas the angle is smaller than 45° when the vertical viscosity coefficient increases with water depth.So the different observed surface current deflexion angles in low latitude sea areas and the Arctic regions should be attributed to the different vertical distribution characteristics of vertical viscosity coefficients in the upper ocean.The flatness of the Ekman spiral is not equal to one and does not show regular behaviors for the numerical experiments with different distribution of vertical viscosity.However,the magnitudes and directions of volume transport of Ekman spirals are almost the same as the results of classical Ekman theory,i.e.,vertical viscosity coefficient distributions have no effect on the magnitudes and directions of volume transport.     

Turbulent flow structures in alluvial channels with curved cross‐sections under conditions of downward seepage

Experimental investigations have been done to analyze turbulent structures in curved sand bed channels with and without seepage. Measures of turbulent statistics such as time‐averaged near‐bed velocities, Reynolds stresses, thickness of roughness sublayer and shear velocities were found to increase with application of downward seepage. Turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds normal stresses are increased in the streamwise direction under the action of downward seepage, causing bed particles to move rapidly. Analysis of bursting events shows that the relative contributions of all events (ejections, sweeps and interactions) increase throughout the boundary layer, and the thickness of the zone of dominance of sweep events, which are responsible for the bed material movement, increases in the case of downward seepage. The increased sediment transport rate due to downward seepage deforms the cross‐sectional geometry of the channel made of erodible boundaries, which is caused by an increase in flow turbulence and an associated decrease in turbulent kinetic energy dissipation and turbulent diffusion.     

Influence of thermal stratification on the surfacing and clustering of floaters in free surface turbulence

The dispersion of floaters, small organic particles lighter than water, on the free surface of an open turbulent channel flow subject to thermal stratification is studied by Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of turbulence and Lagrangian Particle Tracking (LPT). Constant heat flux is maintained at the free surface of the channel, the bottom wall is adiabatic and the turbulent flow is driven by a pressure gradient. This archetypal flow setup mimics an environmentally plausible situation which can be found in terrestrial water bodies. The free surface turbulence characteristic of such flows has a strong influence on the distribution of the floaters: the objective of this work is to study the effect of different regimes of stable stratification on the surface distribution of floaters. The distribution of the floaters can possibly influence the transfer of chemical species across the water/atmosphere interface. Our results show that the modification of turbulence due to the thermal stratification strongly influences the settling velocity of floaters in the bulk of the flow. At the surface, stratification effects are also observed on the clustering of the floaters: the filamentary patterns of floaters observed in unstratified turbulence are progressively lost as thermal stratification increases, and the distribution of the floaters remains roughly two-dimensional.     

The discovery of surface runoff in the megadunes of Badain Jaran Desert,China, and its significance

The Badain Jaran Desert exhibits the greatest difference in altitude of all of the world’s deserts. On the slopes of megadunes in the desert, there are physical and chemical deposits produced by surface runoff. In addition, we have observed rarely-seen infiltration-excess surface runoff in the megadune depressions as well as spring streams at the base of megadunes. We used electron microscopy, energy spectrum analysis, infiltration experiments, moisture content determinations and grain-size analysis to study the mineral and chemical composition of the runoff precipitates, and grain-size of the deposits associated with the runoff, together with the hydrological balance in the megadune area, and the atmospheric precipitation mechanism responsible for groundwater recharge and for supplying water to lakes. The observations of shallow runoff and infiltration-excess surface runoff indicate the occurrence of strong and effective precipitation in summer, which would provide an important source for groundwater recharge. Several lines of evidence, such as the physical and chemical deposits resulting from shallow subsurface runoff, spring streams, infiltration-excess runoff, and gravity capillary water with a moisture content of 3–6%, demonstrate that precipitation reaches the base of the megadunes through infiltration and subsequently becomes groundwater. The chemical deposits, such as newly-formed calcite and gypsum, and gray-black physical deposits, as well as different stages in the development of fan-shaped landforms resulting from shallow subsurface runoff, indicate that groundwater recharge in the area is the result of long-term precipitation, rather than intermittent individual major rainfall events. Fine sand layers with a low infiltration capacity lead to subsurface runoff emerging at the ground surface. Five factors play an important role in maintaining a positive water balance and in replenishing groundwater via rainfall: effective rainfall as a water source, the high infiltration capacity of the sands enabling rainfall to rapidly become capillary water in the dunes, low evapotranspiration rates due to the sparse vegetation, the fact that the depth of the sand layer influenced by evaporation is shallow enough to maximize the deep infiltration of rainfall, and rapidly-moving gravity capillary water in the sandy dunes. These five factors together constitute a mechanism for groundwater recharge from rainfall, and explain the origin of the groundwater and lakes in the area. Our findings represent a significant advance in research on the hydrological cycle, including groundwater recharge conditions and recharge mechanisms, in this desert region.     

Penetrative convection in the upper ocean due to surface cooling

Abstract

A new non-linear model of mixing and convection based on a modelling of two buoyant interacting fluids is applied to penetrative convection in the upper ocean due to surface cooling. In view of simple algebra, the model is one-dimensional. Dissipation is included, but no mean shear is present. A non-similar analytical solution is found in the case of a well-mixed layer bounded below by a sharp thermocline treated as a boundary layer. This solution is valid if the Richardson number, R _i , defined as the ratio of the total mixed-layer buoyancy to a characteristic rms vertical velocity, is much greater than unity. The model predicts a deepening rate proportional to R _i ^?3/4. The thermocline remains of constant thickness, and the ratio thermocline thickness to mixed-layer depth decreases as R _i ^?3/4 as the mixed layer deepens. If the surface flux is constant, the mixed-layer depth increases with time as t ^½. The vertical structure throughout the mixed layer and thermocline is given by the analytical solution, and vertical profiles of mean temperature and vertical fluxes are plotted. Computed profiles and available laboratory data agree remarkably well. Moreover, the accuracy of the simple analytical results presented here is comparable to that of sophisticated turbulence numerical models.     

Sea Surface Salinity Observations from Space with the SMOS Satellite: A New Means to Monitor the Marine Branch of the Water Cycle

While it is well known that the ocean is one of the most important component of the climate system, with a heat capacity 1,100 times greater than the atmosphere, the ocean is also the primary reservoir for freshwater transport to the atmosphere and largest component of the global water cycle. Two new satellite sensors, the ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and the NASA Aquarius SAC-D missions, are now providing the first space-borne measurements of the sea surface salinity (SSS). In this paper, we present examples demonstrating how SMOS-derived SSS data are being used to better characterize key land–ocean and atmosphere–ocean interaction processes that occur within the marine hydrological cycle. In particular, SMOS with its ocean mapping capability provides observations across the world’s largest tropical ocean fresh pool regions, and we discuss from intraseasonal to interannual precipitation impacts as well as large-scale river runoff from the Amazon–Orinoco and Congo rivers and its offshore advection. Synergistic multi-satellite analyses of these new surface salinity data sets combined with sea surface temperature, dynamical height and currents from altimetry, surface wind, ocean color, rainfall estimates, and in situ observations are shown to yield new freshwater budget insight. Finally, SSS observations from the SMOS and Aquarius/SAC-D sensors are combined to examine the response of the upper ocean to tropical cyclone passage including the potential role that a freshwater-induced upper ocean barrier layer may play in modulating surface cooling and enthalpy flux in tropical cyclone track regions.     

Quantifying turbulent mixing and oxygen fluxes in a Mediterranean-type,microtidal estuary

Experiments were carried out on an intermittent estuary during its closed (summer) and open (winter) states to identify the physical processes responsible for vertical mixing across the halocline, and to quantify vertical fluxes of oxygen and salt between water layers. During the blocked phase a two-layer structure was observed, with a brackish surface layer overlying old seawater. Within a deep basin the wind-driven turbulent mixing was consistent with the measured surface-layer turbulent dissipation, but the dissipation in the bottom layer appeared to be driven by internal seiching. In the shallow regions of the estuary vertical fluxes of dissolved oxygen were indicative of oxygen demand by respiration and remineralization of organic material in bottom water and sediments. During the estuary's open phase a three-layer structure was observed, having a fresh, river-derived surface layer, a middle layer of new seawater, and a bottom layer of old seawater. In the shallower regions surface-layer turbulent diffusion was consistent with the strong, gusty winds experienced at the time. The dissolved oxygen of the incoming seawater decreased to very low values by the time it reached the upstream deep basin as a result of the low cross-pycnocline oxygen flux being unable to compensate for the oxygen utilization. At least 50 % of the cross-pycnocline salt fluxes in the shallow reaches of the open estuary are suggested to be driven by Holmboe instabilities. Responsible Editor: Hans Burchard     

Effect of water depth and the bottom boundary layer upon internal wave generation over abrupt topography

The role of water depth and bottom boundary layer turbulence upon lee-wave generation in sill regions is examined. Their effect upon vertical mixing is also considered. Calculations are performed using a non-hydrostatic model in cross-section form with a specified tidal forcing. Initial calculations in deeper water and a sill height such that the sill top is well removed from the surrounding bed region showed that downstream lee-wave generation and associated mixing increased as bottom friction coefficient k increased. This was associated with an increase in current shear across the sill. However, for a given k, increasing vertical eddy viscosity A _v reduced vertical shear in the across sill velocity, leading to a reduction in lee-wave amplitude and associated mixing. Subsequent calculations using shallower water showed that for a given k and A _v, lee-wave generation was reduced due to the shallower water depth and changes in the bottom boundary layer. However, in this case (unlike in the deepwater case), there is an appreciable bottom current. This gives rise to bottom mixing which in shallow water extends to mid-depth and enhances the mid-water mixing that is found on the lee side of the sill. Final calculations with deeper water but small sill height showed that lee waves could propagate over the sill, thereby reducing their contribution to mixing. In this case, bottom mixing was the major source of mixing which was mainly confined to the near bed region, with little mid-water mixing.     

Richardson number profiles in laboratory experiments applied to shallow seas

Abstract

A unified analysis is given of the critical conditions for the onset of stratification due to either a vertical or a horizontal buoyancy flux, with tidal or wind stirring.

The critical conditions for the onset of stratification with a horizontal buoyancy flux are found to be of the form of ratios of the tidal slope, or wind setup, to the equivalent surface slope due to the lateral density gradient. These ratios, which are easily determined from sea data, indicate that the profiles of critical flux Richardson Number, averaged over the stirring cycle, are similar to those inferred from the laboratory experiments of Hopfinger and Linden (1982) in which there is zero mean shear turbulence with a stabilising buoyancy flux, and also that the efficiency for the conversion of kinetic energy to potential energy for tidal stirring is similar to that for wind stirring.

The observed much greater efficiency for wind stirring, compared with tidal stirring with a vertical buoyancy flux, is also consistent with the existence of flux Richardson Number profiles in the sea similar to those occurring in the corresponding laboratory experiments. Using the solution of the turbulent kinetic energy equation for the water column, the relative importance of the production of turbulent kinetic energy, and its diffusion by turbulence are assessed, and the critical conditions for the onset of stratification with a vertical buoyancy flux are shown to reduce the classical Simpson—Hunter form.