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Contenido archivado el 2022-12-23

Ocean wind wave breaking and wave-turbulence interaction

Objetivo

The sensitivity of the ocean-atmosphere system to the processes on the ocean surface and in the few uppermost meters was established more than two decades ago. The aim of this project is to investigate experimentally, theoretically and by means of numerical simulation the fundamental mechanisms of wind-wave breaking and interaction of wind waves and small-scale turbulence beneath the waves. The eventual goal of the project is to facilitate the role of these processes in the momentum and heat exchange at the air/sea interface to be able to parameterise them for forecasting modelling and remote sensing monitoring. The main specific objectives can be formulated as follows:
- To develop and test a new remote sensing method of probing the subsurface vertical shear by means of a single frequency HF radar;
- To investigate wind wave breaking as a coherent spatio-temporal pattern and different routes to breaking. To develop a solid foundation for parameterisation of this phenomenon;
- To investigate the fundamental mechanisms of wind-wave interaction with small-scale turbulence beneath the waves and facilitate their role in wind wave dynamics and in the momentum and heat exchange processes at the ocean/atmosphere interface.
The laboratory experiments on wave breaking and subsurface turbulence carried out in the large Luminy wind-wave facility (Marseille) will be complemented by the similar measurements from the Katsiveli (Ukraine) sea platform and theoretical analysis provided by the IORAS (Moscow) and Keele (UK) teams. A further development of HF remote sensing technique, which is cheap and can be used for operational monitoring, will be carried out by LSEET (Toulon), Keele, and IORAS. The new idea is to measure the Bragg wave group velocity employing the same hardware. The method will utilize the first order Bragg scattering owing to the side-band peaks, the latter used to be considered parasitic and normally were filtered out. The study of breaking and turbulence is expected to provide parameterisation of mixing and exchange processes through air/sea interface. The latter will be used for interpreting the acquired subsurface shear in terms of the momentum and heat fluxes and thus making the HF radars an advanced monitoring tool; it will also be incorporated into wave forecasting models by AARI (StPetersburg) for eventual use in the weather and climate models.

Convocatoria de propuestas

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Régimen de financiación

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Coordinador

Keele University
Aportación de la UE
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Dirección

ST5 5BG Keele, Staffordshire
Reino Unido

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Coste total
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Participantes (5)