Related papers: Slow persistent mixing in the abyss
Turbulence in the upper ocean in the submesoscale range (scales smaller than the deformation radius) plays an important role for the heat exchange with the atmosphere and for oceanic biogeochemistry. Its dynamics should strongly depend on…
The deep sea is weakly stratified in density but shows considerable variations in turbulent motions in all three directions. When registered by moored high-resolution temperature 'T'-sensors, the motions cause variations of 0.01degrC or…
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained. Parameterizations that assume shear boundary layer scaling are commonly used,…
Turbulent thermals emerge in a wide variety of geophysical and industrial flows, such as atmospheric cumulus convection and pollutant dispersal in oceans and lakes. When a buoyant fluid mass rises, or sinks, heat and mass transfers occur by…
The dynamic and thermal regimes of climate are regulated by an exchange of energy and momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean. The role exerted by surface waves on this interchange is particularly enigmatic. Waves induce turbulence in…
Interaction between energy-abundant (sub-)mesoscale eddies and internal waves can lead to turbulence generation and may prove important for replenishment of nutrients for deep-sea life and circulation. However, observational evidence of…
The energy pathways from propagating internal waves to the scales of irreversible mixing in the ocean are not fully described. In the ocean interior, the triadic resonant instability is an intrinsic destabilization process that may enhance…
A correction by a reduction factor O(100) is proposed for previously calculated turbulence values on unresolved convection-overturns induced by general geothermal heating in the deep Western Mediterranean. The correction includes modified…
Wave breaking is a critical process in the upper ocean: an energy sink for the surface wave field and a source for turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer. We apply a novel multi-layer numerical solver resolving upper-ocean dynamics…
Across the stable density stratification of the abyssal ocean, deep dense water is slowly propelled upward by sustained, though irregular, turbulent mixing. The resulting mean upwelling determines large-scale oceanic circulation properties…
The asymmetries that arise when a mixing layer involves two miscible fluids of differing densities are investigated using incompressible (low-speed) direct numerical simulations. The simulations are performed in the temporal configuration…
Seasonal hypoxia or even anoxia can occur in some local deep basins of coastal waters. Such low summertime oxygen contents especially affect benthic life. The seasonal coastal hypoxia is commonly related to biological increased respiration…
It has been suggested that the upwelling branch of the abyssal overturning circulation is characterized by strong flows driven by turbulence along sloping topography. The Boundary Layer Turbulence field campaign has provided direct evidence…
Munk (1966) showed that the deep (1000-3000 m) vertical temperature profile is consistent with a one-dimensional vertical advection-diffusion balance, with a constant upwelling and an interior diapycnal diffusivity of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$…
Knowledge about the characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer is vital for the understanding of redistribution of air and suspended contents that are particularly driven by turbulent motions. Despite many modelling studies, detailed…
Turbulent mixing processes in deep alpine Lake Garda (I) have not extensively been observed. Knowledge about drivers of turbulent fluxes are important for insights in the transport of matter, nutrients and pollutants, in the lake and in…
Turbulence and large-scale waves in the tropical region are studied using the spherical shallow water equations. With mesoscale vorticity forcing, both moist and dry systems show kinetic energy scaling that is dominated by rotational modes,…
The redistribution of matter in the deep-sea depends on water-flow currents and turbulent exchange, for which breaking internal waves are an important source. As internal waves and turbulence are essentially three-dimensional 3D, their…
This study examines the impact of turbulent mixing on horizontal density compensation in the upper ocean. A series of simulations model the role of mixing in scenarios initialized with geostrophically-adjusted compensated and uncompensated…
To evaluate the effect of turbulent heating in the thermal balance of interstellar clouds, we develop an extension of the log-Poisson intermittency model to supersonic turbulence. The model depends on a parameter, d, interpreted as the…