The Near-Surface Layer of the Ocean: Structure, Dynamics and ApplicationsUntil the 1980s, a tacit agreement among many physical oceanographers was that nothing deserving attention could be found in the upper few meters of the ocean. The lack of adequete knowledge about the near-surface layer of the ocean was mainly due to the fact that the widely used oceanographic instruments (such as bathythermographs, CTDs, current meters, etc.) were practically useless in the upper few meters of the ocean. Interest in the ne- surface layer of the ocean rapidly increased along with the development of remote sensing techniques. The interpretation of ocean surface signals sensed from satellites demanded thorough knowledge of upper ocean processes and their connection to the ocean interior. Despite its accessibility to the investigator, the near-surface layer of the ocean is not a simple subject of experimental study. Random, sometimes huge, vertical motions of the ocean surface due to surface waves are a serious complication for collecting quality data close to the ocean surface. The supposedly minor problem of avoiding disturbances from ships’ wakes has frustrated several generations of oceanographers attempting to take reliable data from the upper few meters of the ocean. Important practical applications nevertheless demanded action, and as a result several pioneering works in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for the new subject of oceanography – the near-surface layer of the ocean. |
Contents
3 | |
4 | 20 |
Forcing | 34 |
6 | 41 |
7 | 50 |
SEA SURFACE MICROLAYER 67 | 66 |
TURBULENCE | 143 |
4 | 218 |
7 | 439 |
2 | 451 |
4 | 457 |
5 | 480 |
6 | 496 |
Mathematical Notations | 505 |
513 | |
561 | |
Other editions - View all
The Near-Surface Layer of the Ocean: Structure, Dynamics and Applications Alexander Soloviev,Roger Lukas No preview available - 2009 |
The Near-Surface Layer of the Ocean: Structure, Dynamics and Applications Alexander Soloviev,Roger Lukas No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
acoustic air-sea interface American Meteorological Society atmospheric boundary layer boundary conditions bubbles buoyancy capillary waves COARE component convection cool skin density dependence diffusion dissipation rate diurnal mixed layer diurnal thermocline diurnal warming drop droplets dynamics effect equation flow follows free-rising profiler frequency freshwater friction velocity function gas transfer gradient halocline heat flux high wind speed horizontal instability internal waves kinetic energy Langmuir circulations length scale low wind speed measurements microlayer mixed layer depth molecular sublayers near-surface layer nonlinear observed ocean surface parameter parameterization planetary boundary layers processes rain raindrops rainfall remote sensing Richardson number salinity scattering Schlüssel Section sensor sharp frontal interfaces shear shown in Figure solar radiation Soloviev Soloviev and Lukas spectral spectrum stratification structure surface waves temperature difference temperature profiles thermal turbulent boundary layer turbulent kinetic energy upper ocean viscous volume source wave breaking wavelength wavenumber wind speed conditions wind stress