Videos

Parametrized Multiscale Momentum Exchanges between Waves, Currents, and Whitecapping

Presenter
April 14, 2011
Keywords:
  • Stochastic parametrization, wave current interactions, multiscale ocean dynamics
MSC:
  • 14C05
Abstract
The challenge of producing practical models that accurately capture the interaction of waves and currents is primarily a problem of the enormous spatio-temporal scales: on the Continental Shelf, we require capturing dynamics that span seconds to seasons, and spatial structures spanning meters to basins. Using filtering and asymptotics we have been able to develop a comprehensive model for waves and currents, that capture the conservative portion of the dynamics. An important source of momentum exchanges between waves and currents are breaking events. These whitecapping events are short-lived yet not ignorable even on the very largest of spatio-temporal scales. We have developed a stochastic parametrization that models breaking events as sources of uncertainty in the Lagrangian paths of fluid parcels. Application of the projection to the Eulerian frame along with filtering yields their contribution to the dynamics of waves and currents.