Show simple item record

contributor authorUmlauf, Lars
contributor authorSmyth, William D.
contributor authorMoum, James N.
date accessioned2017-06-09T17:21:23Z
date available2017-06-09T17:21:23Z
date copyright2015/12/01
date issued2015
identifier issn0022-3670
identifier otherams-83735.pdf
identifier urihttp://onlinelibrary.yabesh.ir/handle/yetl/4226993
description abstracturbulent bottom Ekman layers are among the most important energy conversion sites in the ocean. Their energetics are notoriously complex, in particular near sloping topography, where the feedback between cross-slope Ekman transports, buoyancy forcing, and mixing affects the energy budget in ways that are not well understood. Here, the authors attempt to clarify the energy pathways and different routes to mixing, using a combined theoretical and modeling approach. The analysis is based on a newly developed energy flux diagram for turbulent Ekman layers near sloping topography that allows for an exact definition of the different energy reservoirs and energy pathways. Using a second-moment turbulence model, it is shown that mixing efficiencies increase for increasing slope angle and interior stratification, but do not exceed the threshold of 5% except for very steep slopes, where the canonical value of 20% may be reached. Available potential energy generated by cross-slope advection may equal up to 70% of the energy lost to dissipation for upwelling-favorable flow, and up to 40% for downwelling-favorable flow.
publisherAmerican Meteorological Society
titleEnergetics of Bottom Ekman Layers during Buoyancy Arrest
typeJournal Paper
journal volume45
journal issue12
journal titleJournal of Physical Oceanography
identifier doi10.1175/JPO-D-15-0041.1
journal fristpage3099
journal lastpage3117
treeJournal of Physical Oceanography:;2015:;Volume( 045 ):;issue: 012
contenttypeFulltext


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record