The improvement of the one-dimensional Mellor-Yamada and K-profile parameterization turbulence schemes with the non-breaking surface wave-induced vertical mixing

Abstract

Both the level 2.5 Mellor-Yamada turbulence closure scheme (MY) and K-profile parameterization (KPP) are popularly used by the ocean modeling community. The MY and the KPP are improved through including the non-breaking surface wave-induced vertical mixing (Bv), and the improved schemes were tested by using continuous data at the Papa ocean weather station (OWS) during 1961–1965. The numerical results showed that the Bv can make the temperature simulations fit much better with the continuous data from Papa Station. The two improved schemes overcame the shortcomings of predicting too shallow upper mixed layer depth and consequently overheated sea surface temperature during summertime, which are in fact common problems for all turbulence closure models. Statistical analysis showed that the Bv effectively reduced the mean absolute error and root mean square error of the upper layer temperature and increased the correlation coefficient between simulation and the observation. Furthermore, the performance of vertical mixing induced by shear instability and the Bv is also compared. Both the temperature structure and its seasonal cycle significantly improved by including the Bv, regardless of whether shear instability was included or not, especially for the KPP mixing scheme, which suggested that Bv played a dominant role in the upper ocean where the mean current was relatively weak, such as at Papa Station. These results may provide a clue to improve ocean circulation models.