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Material Transport in the Ocean Mixed Layer: Recent Developments Enabled by Large Eddy Simulations
Author(s) -
Chamecki Marcelo,
Chor Tomas,
Yang Di,
Meneveau Charles
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/2019rg000655
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , large eddy simulation , turbulence , scale (ratio) , environmental science , meteorology , geophysics , geology , physics , paleontology , quantum mechanics
Material transport in the ocean mixed layer (OML) is an important component of natural processes such as gas and nutrient exchanges. It is also important in the context of pollution (oil droplets, microplastics, etc.). Observational studies of small‐scale three‐dimensional turbulence in the OML are difficult, especially if one aims at a systematic coverage of relevant parameters and their effects, under controlled conditions. Numerical studies are also challenging due to the large‐scale separation between the physical processes dominating transport in the horizontal and vertical directions. Despite this difficulty, the application of large eddy simulation (LES) to study OML turbulence and, more specifically, its effects on material transport has resulted in major advances in the field in recent years. In this paper we review the use of LES to study material transport within the OML and then summarize and synthesize the advances it has enabled in the past decade or so. In the first part we describe the LES technique and the most common approaches when applying it in OML material transport investigations. In the second part we review recent results on material transport obtained using LES and comment on implications.