The seasonal and spatial variability of small-scale turbulence at the Iberian margin

Turbulence measurements were made off the northwest coast of Spain in January and August 1998. In winter the water column was vertically mixed to about 100 to 150 m, due to the combined effects of the vertical convection of warm northward-moving water and wind stress. A highly dissipative surface boundary layer was present at all times to a depth (of about 20 m) that correlated well with the local wind and wave amplitude. Below this layer dissipation levels decreased from about 10-7 m2 s-3 at a rate that was commensurate with 'law of the wall' boundary theory. Near the coast local brackish surface stratification served to depress mixing below the pycnocline. In summer, when the water column was thermally stratified, average dissipation levels were typically an order of magnitude smaller than in winter, even though the wind stress in the ocean was of similar magnitude. Bursts of enhanced mixing were occasionally observed in an internal wave field on the shelf. Dissipation levels were higher on the northern side of an upwelling filament (up to 10-7 m2 s-3) than in other parts of the ocean. Although eddy viscosity levels on the shelf and in the ocean were almost identical (about 8 cm2 s-1), eddy diffusion on the shelf (0.37 cm2 s-1) was about three times larger than in the ocean. This may indicate a higher frequency of mixing events on the shelf. The summer data were used to determine a mixing length (of about 0.3 ± 0.05 m) using an algorithm that mimicked the way that turbulence closure models compute dissipation from vertical shear and buoyancy over grid scales of several meters. The correlation between dissipation and the gradient Richardson number was poor and it is suggested that at the scales of the observations, and of some models, buoyancy is just as likely to act as a source of mixing as it is to act as a sink

Horizontal dispersion in shelf seas: High resolution modelling as an aid to sparse sampling

The ability of a hydrodynamic model to reproduce the results of a dye release experiment conducted in a wide shelf sea environment was investigated with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). In the field experiment a fluorescent tracer, Rhodamine WT, was injected into the seasonal pycnocline, and its evolution was tracked for two days using a towed undulating vehicle equipped with a fluorometer and a CTD. With a 50. m horizontal resolution grid, and with three different forcings initialized in the model (viz: tides, stationary current, and wind stress on the free surface), it was possible to replicate the dye patch evolution quite accurately. The mechanisms responsible for the enhancement of horizontal dispersion were investigated on the basis of the model results. It was found that enhancement of the dye dispersion was controlled by vertically sheared currents that, in combination with vertical diapycnal mixing, led to a substantial increase in the "effective" horizontal mixing. The values of "effective" horizontal mixing found from the model runs were in good agreement with those obtained from in-situ data, and the probable degree to which the observational techniques undersampled the dye patch was revealed

Blockage of saline intrusions in restricted, two-layer exchange flows across a submerged sill obstruction

The work has been supported by European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme through the grant to the budget of the Integrating Activity HYDRALAB IV within the Transnational Access Activities, Contract No. 261520.Results are presented from a series of large-scale experiments investigating the internal and near-bed dynamics of bi-directional stratified flows with a net-barotropic component across a submerged, trapezoidal, sill obstruction. High-resolution velocity and density profiles are obtained in the vicinity of the obstruction to observe internal-flow dynamics under a range of parametric forcing conditions (i.e. variable saline and fresh water volume fluxes; density differences; sill obstruction submergence depths). Detailed synoptic velocity fields are measured across the sill crest using 2D particle image velocimetry, while the density structure of the two-layer exchange flows is measured using micro-conductivity probes at several sill locations. These measurements are designed to aid qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the internal-flow processes associated with the lower saline intrusion layer blockage conditions, and indicate that the primary mechanism for this blockage is mass exchange from the saline intrusion layer due to significant interfacial mixing and entrainment under dominant, net-barotropic, flow conditions in the upper freshwater layer. This interfacial mixing is quantified by considering both the isopycnal separation of vertically-sorted density profiles across the sill, as well as calculation of corresponding Thorpe overturning length scales. Analysis of the synoptic velocity fields and density profiles also indicates that the net exchange flow conditions remain subcritical (G < 1) across the sill for all parametric conditions tested. An analytical two-layer exchange flow model is then developed to include frictional and entrainment effects, both of which are needed to account for turbulent stresses and saline entrainment into the upper freshwater layer. The experimental results are used to validate two key model parameters: (1) the internal-flow head loss associated with boundary friction and interfacial shear; and (2) the mass exchange from the lower saline layer into the upper fresh layer due to entrainment.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Application of a new net primary production methodology: a daily to annual-scale data set for the North Sea, derived from autonomous underwater gliders and satellite Earth observation

Shelf seas play a key role in both the global carbon cycle and coastal marine ecosystems through the draw-down and fixing of carbon, as measured through phytoplankton net primary production (NPP). Measuring NPP in situ and extrapolating this to the local, regional, and global scale presents challenges however because of limitations with the techniques utilised (e.g. radiocarbon isotopes), data sparsity, and the inherent biogeochemical heterogeneity of coastal and open-shelf waters. Here, we introduce a new data set generated using a technique based on the synergistic use of in situ glider profiles and satellite Earth observation measurements which can be implemented in a real-time or delayed�mode system (https://doi.org/10.5285/e6974644-2026-0f94-e053-6c86abc00109; Loveday and Smyth, 2022). We apply this system to a fleet of gliders successively deployed over a 19-month time frame in the North Sea, generating an unprecedented fine-scale time series of NPP in the region. At a large scale, this time series gives close agreement with existing satellite-based estimates of NPP for the region and previous in situ estimates. What has not been elucidated before is the high-frequency, small-scale, depth-resolved variability associated with bloom phenology, mesoscale phenomena, and mixed layer dynamics

Influence of bottom frictional effects in sill regions upon lee wave generation and implications for internal mixing

A cross-sectional nonhydrostatic model using idealized sill topography is used to examine the influence of bottom friction upon unsteady lee wave generation and flow in the region of a sill. The implications of changes in shear and lee wave intensity in terms of local mixing are also considered. Motion is induced by a barotropic tidal flow which produces a hydraulic transition, associated with which are convective overturning cells, wave breaking, and unsteady lee waves that give rise to mixing on the lee side of the sill. Calculations show that, as bottom friction is increased, current profiles on the shallow sill crest develop a highly sheared bottom boundary layer. This enhanced current shear changes the downwelling of isotherms downstream of the sill with an associated increase in the hydraulic transition, wave breaking, and convective mixing in the upper part of the water column. Both short and longer time calculations with wide and narrow sills for a number of sill depths and buoyancy frequencies confirm that increasing bottom friction modifies the flow and unsteady lee wave distribution on the downstream side of a sill. Associated with this increase in bottom friction coefficient, there is increased mixing in the upper part of the water column with an associated decrease in the vertical temperature gradient. However, this increase in mixing and decrease in temperature gradient in the upper part of the water column is very different from the conventional change in near-bed temperature gradient produced by increased bottom mixing that occurs in shallow sea regions as the bottom drag coefficient is increased

Effect of water depth and the bottom boundary layer upon internal wave generation over abrupt topography

The role of water depth and bottom boundary layer turbulence upon lee-wave generation in sill regions is examined. Their effect upon vertical mixing is also considered. Calculations are performed using a non-hydrostatic model in cross-section form with a specified tidal forcing. Initial calculations in deeper water and a sill height such that the sill top is well removed from the surrounding bed region showed that downstream lee-wave generation and associated mixing increased as bottom friction coefficient k increased. This was associated with an increase in current shear across the sill. However, for a given k, increasing vertical eddy viscosity A (v) reduced vertical shear in the across sill velocity, leading to a reduction in lee-wave amplitude and associated mixing. Subsequent calculations using shallower water showed that for a given k and A (v,) lee-wave generation was reduced due to the shallower water depth and changes in the bottom boundary layer. However, in this case (unlike in the deepwater case), there is an appreciable bottom current. This gives rise to bottom mixing which in shallow water extends to mid-depth and enhances the mid-water mixing that is found on the lee side of the sill. Final calculations with deeper water but small sill height showed that lee waves could propagate over the sill, thereby reducing their contribution to mixing. In this case, bottom mixing was the major source of mixing which was mainly confined to the near bed region, with little mid-water mixin

Non-hydrostatic and non-linear contributions to the internal wave energy flux in sill regions

A three-dimensional non-linear, non-hydrostatic model in cross-sectional form is used to determine the factors influencing the relative importance of the linear, non-hydrostatic and non-linear contributions to the internal wave energy flux in sill regions due to tidal forcing. The importance of the free surface elevation term is also considered. Idealised topography representing the sill at the entrance to Loch Etive, the site of a recent measurement programme, is used. Calculations show that the non-linear terms in the energy flux become increasingly important as the sill Froude Number (F (s)) increases and the sill aspect ratio is increased. The vertical profile of the stratification, in particular its value close to the sill crest where internal waves are generated, has a significant influence on unsteady lee wave and mixed tidal-lee wave generation and the non-linear contribution to the energy flux. Calculations show that as F (s) increases, the energy flux due to the non-linear and non-hydrostatic terms increases more rapidly than the linear term. The importance of the non-linear terms in the energy flux also increases as the sill aspect ratio is increased. Increasing the buoyancy frequency reduces the contribution of the non-hydrostatic and non-linear terms to the total energy flux. Also, as the buoyancy frequency is increased, this reduces unsteady lee wave and mixed tidal-lee wave generation. In essence, these calculations show that the energy flux due to the non-hydrostatic and non-linear terms is appreciable in sill regions