A simple analytical/numerical model has been developed for computing the
evolution, over periods of up to a few hours, of the current and temperature
profile in the upper layer of the ocean. The model is based upon conservation
laws for heat and momentum, and employs an eddy diffusion parameterisation
which is dependent on both the wind speed and the wind stress applied at the
sea surface. Other parameters such as the bulk-skin surface temperature
difference and CO2 flux are determined by application of the Molecular
Oceanic Boundary Layer Model (MOBLAM) of Schluessel and Soloviev. A similar
model, for the current profile only, predicts a temporary increase in wave
breaking intensity and decrease in wave height under conditions where the wind
speed increases suddenly, such as, for example, during gusts and squalls. The
model results are compared with measurements from the lagrangian Skin Depth
Experimental Profiler (SkinDeEP) surface profiling instrument made during the
1999 MOCE-5 field experiment in the waters around Baja California. SkinDeEP
made repeated profiles of temperature within the upper few metres of the water
column. Given that no tuning was performed in the model, and that the model
does not take account of stratification, the results of the model runs are in
rather good agreement with the observations. The model may be suitable as an
interface between time-independent models of processes very near the surface,
and larger-scale three-dimensional time-dependent ocean circulation models. A
straightforward extension of the model should also be suitable for making
time-dependent computations of gas concentration in the near-surface layer of
the ocean.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. In press at Deep-Sea Research II. Uses
a modified form of elsart.cls. Proof correction
