Langmuir Circulation and Vertical Mixing in Oceanic Boundary Layers
Summary
Langmuir circulation arises from the interaction of wind, surface waves and Earth's rotation to produce organised counter‐rotating vortices aligned with the wind direction. These windrows concentrate buoyant materials at the surface and enhance vertical exchanges through near‐surface convergence and divergence zones. Vertical mixing in the oceanic boundary layer is controlled by shear-driven turbulence, buoyancy fluxes and wave-driven processes, of which Langmuir turbulence constitutes a major component. Combined, these mechanisms determine the depth of the mixed layer, influence the trapping of heat and momentum in diurnal warm layers, and regulate the transport of nutrients, gases and pollutants. Improved understanding of these processes is crucial for accurate climate and ecosystem modelling, pollutant dispersion forecasts and the interpretation of air-sea flux measurements across diverse marine environments.
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Langmuir Circulation and Vertical Mixing in Oceanic Boundary Layers publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in langmuir circulation and vertical mixing in oceanic boundary layers across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Langmuir circulation: Wind- and wave-driven counter-rotating vortices in the upper ocean that organise surface convergence zones.
Stokes drift: A net transport of water particles in the direction of wave propagation, contributing to Langmuir turbulence.
Mixed layer depth (MLD): The thickness of the near-surface layer characterised by nearly uniform density due to active turbulence and mixing.
Diurnal warm layer: A shallow, warm near-surface layer that forms under daytime heating and is modulated by turbulence and wave processes.
Turbulent kinetic energy (TKE): The energy contained in turbulent motions, which drives vertical mixing within the ocean surface boundary layer.
Ocean surface boundary layer (OSBL): The uppermost region of the ocean directly influenced by wind stress, buoyancy fluxes and surface waves.
References
- Parameterizing Vertical Mixing Coefficients in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer Using Neural Networks. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (2023).
- Langmuir Turbulence Controls on Observed Diurnal Warm Layer Depths. Geophysical Research Letters (2023).
- A comparison of Langmuir turbulence parameterizations and key wave effects in a numerical model of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Ocean Modelling (2019).
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