Identification

Title

Atmospheric boundary layers over an oceanic eddy

Abstract

Imagery and numerical modeling show an abundance of submesoscale oceanic eddies in the upper ocean. Large-eddy simulation (LES) is used to elucidate eddy impacts on the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) forced by winds, convection, and an eddy with varying radius; the maximum azimuthal eddy speed is 1 m s(-1). Simulations span the unstable regime -1/L = [0, infinity], where L is the Monin-Obukhov (M-O) stability parameter. A linearized Ekman model and the LES couple ABL winds to an eddy through rough-wall M-O boundary conditions. The eddy currents cause a surface stress anomaly that induces Ekman pumping in a dipole horizontal pattern. The dipole is understood as a consequence of surface winds aligned or opposing surface currents. In free convection a vigorous updraft is found above the eddy center and persists over the ABL depth. Heterogeneity in surface temperature flux is responsible for the full ABL impact. With winds and convection, current stress coupling generates a dipole in surface temperature flux even with constant sea surface temperature. Wind, pressure, and temperature anomalies are sensitive to an eddy under light winds. The eddy impact on ABL secondary circulations is on the order of the convective velocity scale w* but grows with increasing current speed, decreasing wind, or increasing convection. Flow past an isolated eddy develops a coherent ABL "wake " and secondary circulations for at least five eddy radii downwind. Kinetic energy exchanges by wind work indicate an eddy-killing effect on the oceanic eddy current, but only a spatial rearrangement of the atmospheric wind work.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d73x8bjq

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2022-10-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact