Stochastic Closures for Wave\u2013Current Interaction Dynamics

Abstract

Wave–current interaction (WCI) dynamics energizes and mixes the ocean thermocline by producing a combination of Langmuir circulation, internal waves and turbulent shear flows, which interact over a wide range of time scales. Two complementary approaches exist for approximating different aspects of WCI dynamics. These are the Generalized Lagrangian Mean (GLM) approach and the Gent–McWilliams (GM) approach. Their complementarity is evident in their Kelvin circulation theorems. GLM introduces a wave pseudomomentum per unit mass into its Kelvin circulation integrand, while GM introduces an additional ‘bolus velocity’ to transport its Kelvin circulation loop. The GLM approach models Eulerian momentum, while the GM approach models Lagrangian transport. In principle, both GLM and GM are based on the Euler–Boussinesq (EB) equations for an incompressible, stratified, rotating flow. The differences in their Kelvin theorems arise from differences in how they model the flow map in the Lagrangian for the Hamilton variational principle underlying the EB equations. A recently developed approach for uncertainty quantification in fluid dynamics constrains fluid variational principles to require that Lagrangian trajectories undergo Stochastic Advection by Lie Transport (SALT). Here, we introduce stochastic closure strategies for quantifying uncertainty in WCI by adapting the SALT approach to both the GLM and GM approximations of the EB variational principle. In the GLM framework, we introduce a stochastic group velocity for transport of wave properties, relative to the frame of motion of the Lagrangian mean flow velocity and a stochastic pressure contribution from the fluctuating kinetic energy. In the GM framework, we introduce a stochastic bolus velocity in addition to the mean drift velocity by imposing the SALT constraint in the GM variational principle.