Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions
Estimating wave effects on vertical mixing is a necessary step toward improving the accuracy and reliability of upper-ocean forecasts. In this study, we evaluate the wave effects on upper-ocean mixing in the northern East China Sea in summer by analyzing the results of comparative experiments: a sta...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-07-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/8/7/540 |
| _version_ | 1797561854762942464 |
|---|---|
| author | Ji-Seok Hong Jae-Hong Moon Taekyun Kim |
| author_facet | Ji-Seok Hong Jae-Hong Moon Taekyun Kim |
| author_sort | Ji-Seok Hong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Estimating wave effects on vertical mixing is a necessary step toward improving the accuracy and reliability of upper-ocean forecasts. In this study, we evaluate the wave effects on upper-ocean mixing in the northern East China Sea in summer by analyzing the results of comparative experiments: a stand-alone ocean model as a control run and two ocean–wave coupled models that include the effect of the breaking waves (BW) and of the wave–current interaction (WCI) with a vortex-force formalism. The comparison exhibits that under weak wind conditions, the BW effect prescribed by wave dissipation energy significantly enhances near-surface mixing because of increased downward turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), whereas the WCI has little effect on vertical mixing. Increased TKE results in a mixed-layer depth deepened by ~46% relative to the control run, which provides better agreement with the observed surface thermal structure. An additional experiment with local wind–based BW parameterization confirms the importance of nonlocally generated waves that propagated into the study area upon near-surface mixing. This suggests that under calm wind conditions, waves propagated over distances can largely affect surface vertical mixing; thus, ocean–wave coupling is capable of improving the surface thermal structure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:20:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11394c10277d4f49af537e827884c5c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:20:30Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-11394c10277d4f49af537e827884c5c22023-11-20T07:18:44ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122020-07-018754010.3390/jmse8070540Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind ConditionsJi-Seok Hong0Jae-Hong Moon1Taekyun Kim2Department of Earth and Marine Science, College of Ocean Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, KoreaDepartment of Earth and Marine Science, College of Ocean Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, KoreaDepartment of Earth and Marine Science, College of Ocean Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, KoreaEstimating wave effects on vertical mixing is a necessary step toward improving the accuracy and reliability of upper-ocean forecasts. In this study, we evaluate the wave effects on upper-ocean mixing in the northern East China Sea in summer by analyzing the results of comparative experiments: a stand-alone ocean model as a control run and two ocean–wave coupled models that include the effect of the breaking waves (BW) and of the wave–current interaction (WCI) with a vortex-force formalism. The comparison exhibits that under weak wind conditions, the BW effect prescribed by wave dissipation energy significantly enhances near-surface mixing because of increased downward turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), whereas the WCI has little effect on vertical mixing. Increased TKE results in a mixed-layer depth deepened by ~46% relative to the control run, which provides better agreement with the observed surface thermal structure. An additional experiment with local wind–based BW parameterization confirms the importance of nonlocally generated waves that propagated into the study area upon near-surface mixing. This suggests that under calm wind conditions, waves propagated over distances can largely affect surface vertical mixing; thus, ocean–wave coupling is capable of improving the surface thermal structure.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/8/7/540vertical mixingocean–wave couplingbreaking wavesturbulent kinetic energywave dissipation energy |
| spellingShingle | Ji-Seok Hong Jae-Hong Moon Taekyun Kim Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions Journal of Marine Science and Engineering vertical mixing ocean–wave coupling breaking waves turbulent kinetic energy wave dissipation energy |
| title | Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions |
| title_full | Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions |
| title_short | Effect of Breaking Waves on Near-Surface Mixing in an Ocean-Wave Coupling System under Calm Wind Conditions |
| title_sort | effect of breaking waves on near surface mixing in an ocean wave coupling system under calm wind conditions |
| topic | vertical mixing ocean–wave coupling breaking waves turbulent kinetic energy wave dissipation energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/8/7/540 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jiseokhong effectofbreakingwavesonnearsurfacemixinginanoceanwavecouplingsystemundercalmwindconditions AT jaehongmoon effectofbreakingwavesonnearsurfacemixinginanoceanwavecouplingsystemundercalmwindconditions AT taekyunkim effectofbreakingwavesonnearsurfacemixinginanoceanwavecouplingsystemundercalmwindconditions |