{"title":"Scaling and flow structure of Langmuir turbulence in inertial frames","authors":"Yun Chang, Alberto Scotti","doi":"10.1175/jpo-d-23-0258.1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nThis paper provides a framework that unifies the characteristics of Langmuir turbulence, including the vortex force effect, velocity scalings, vertical flow structure, and crosswind spacing between surface streaks. The widely accepted CL2 mechanism is extended to explain the observed maximum alongwind velocity and downwelling velocity below the surface. Balancing the extended mechanism in the Craik-Leibovich equations, the scalings for the along-wind velocity u, cross-wind velocity v, and vertical velocity w are formulated as Here, Uf is the friction velocity, Us is the Stokes drift on the surface, and La = (Uf /Us)1/2 is the Langmuir number. Simulations using the Stratified Ocean Model with Adaptive Refinement in Large Eddy Simulation mode (LES-SOMAR) validate the scalings and reveal physical similarity for velocity and crosswind spacing. The horizontally averaged velocity along the wind ū/U on the surface grows with time, whereas v/V and w/W are confined. The root mean square (rms) of w peaks at wrms/W ≈ 0.85 at a depth of 1.3Zs, where Zs is the e-folding scale of the Stokes drift. The crosswind spacing L grows linearly with time but is finally limited by the depth of the water H, with maximum L/H = 3.3. This framework agrees with measurement collected in six different field campaigns.","PeriodicalId":56115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physical Oceanography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Physical Oceanography","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-23-0258.1","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OCEANOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper provides a framework that unifies the characteristics of Langmuir turbulence, including the vortex force effect, velocity scalings, vertical flow structure, and crosswind spacing between surface streaks. The widely accepted CL2 mechanism is extended to explain the observed maximum alongwind velocity and downwelling velocity below the surface. Balancing the extended mechanism in the Craik-Leibovich equations, the scalings for the along-wind velocity u, cross-wind velocity v, and vertical velocity w are formulated as Here, Uf is the friction velocity, Us is the Stokes drift on the surface, and La = (Uf /Us)1/2 is the Langmuir number. Simulations using the Stratified Ocean Model with Adaptive Refinement in Large Eddy Simulation mode (LES-SOMAR) validate the scalings and reveal physical similarity for velocity and crosswind spacing. The horizontally averaged velocity along the wind ū/U on the surface grows with time, whereas v/V and w/W are confined. The root mean square (rms) of w peaks at wrms/W ≈ 0.85 at a depth of 1.3Zs, where Zs is the e-folding scale of the Stokes drift. The crosswind spacing L grows linearly with time but is finally limited by the depth of the water H, with maximum L/H = 3.3. This framework agrees with measurement collected in six different field campaigns.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Physical Oceanography (JPO) (ISSN: 0022-3670; eISSN: 1520-0485) publishes research related to the physics of the ocean and to processes operating at its boundaries. Observational, theoretical, and modeling studies are all welcome, especially those that focus on elucidating specific physical processes. Papers that investigate interactions with other components of the Earth system (e.g., ocean–atmosphere, physical–biological, and physical–chemical interactions) as well as studies of other fluid systems (e.g., lakes and laboratory tanks) are also invited, as long as their focus is on understanding the ocean or its role in the Earth system.