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Near-inertial waves and turbulence driven by the growth of swell

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[15200485 - Journal of Physical Oceanography] Near-Inertial Waves and Turbulence Driven by the Growth of Swell.pdf

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sword-2021-09-16T13:52:12.original.xml (130 B)
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Author(s)
Wagner, Gregory L
•
Chini, Gregory P
•
Ramadhan, Ali
•
Gallet, Basile
•
Ferrari, Raffaele
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Journal of Physical Oceanography
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
AbstractBetween 5% and 25% of the total momentum transferred between the atmosphere and ocean is transmitted via the growth of long surface gravity waves called “swell.” In this paper, we use large-eddy simulations to show that swell-transmitted momentum excites near-inertial waves and drives turbulent mixing that deepens a rotating, stratified, turbulent ocean surface boundary layer. We find that swell-transmitted currents are less effective at producing turbulence and mixing the boundary layer than currents driven by an effective surface stress. Overall, however, the differences between swell-driven and surface-stress-driven boundary layers are relatively minor. In consequence, our results corroborate assumptions made in Earth system models that neglect the vertical structure of swell-transmitted momentum fluxes and instead parameterize all air–sea momentum transfer processes with an effective surface stress.
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DOI of Published Version
10.1175/JPO-D-20-0178.1
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