Oceanic mixed layer response to tidal period internal wave motion
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Authors
Burger, Rolf John
Subjects
Mixed layer modelling
vertical advection and mixed layer modelling
vertical advection and mixed layer modelling
Advisors
Garwood, R.W.
Date of Issue
1982-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of tidal -
period internal wave vertical motion on oceanic mixed layer dynamics,
and to discern the effect upon the diurnal evolution of thermoclines,
as observed during MILE (mixed layer experiment). Vertical advection
was added to a one-dimensional bulk model of the mixed layer with an
assumed linear in z and sinusoidal in time dependence. The rate of
mixed layer deepening was therefore due to the combination of vertical
mction and entrainment. The first significant result was the finding
that the interaction between vertical mixing and vertical motion
depended upon the wave frequency and its phase relation to the diurnal
heating cycle. Second, linear and non-linear interactions of the wave
induced vertical motion with the cyclical boundary conditions can
generate two-dimensional (x-z) structure in the near-surface temperature
field of an initially horizontally homogeneous ocean under the influence
of horizontally homogeneous surface boundary conditions. Finally, this
advective interaction increases the utility of the mixed layer model in
single station forecasting.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Meteorology and Oceanography
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.