Vertical Mixing by Langmuir Circulations

Abstract

Wind and surface wave frequently induce Langmuir circulations (LC) in the upper ocean, and the LC contribute to mixing materials down from the surface. In this paper we analyze large-eddy simulation (LES) cases based on surface-wave-averaged, dynamical equations and show that the effect of the LC is a great increase in the vertical mixing efficiency for both material properties and momentum. We provide new confirmation that the previously proposed K-profile parameterization (KPP) model accurately characterizes the turbulent transport in a weakly convective, wind-driven boundary layer with stable interior stratification. We also propose a modest generalization of KPP for the regime of weakly convective Langmuir turbulence. This makes the KPP turbulent flux profiles match those in the LES case with LC present fairly well, especially so for material properties being transported downwards from the ocean surface. However, some open issues remain about how well the present LES and KPP formulations represent Langmuir turbulence, in part because wave-breaking effects are not yet included.