Modeling of the eddy viscosity by breaking waves

Breaking wave induced nearsurface turbulence has important consequences for many physical and biochemical processes including water column and nutrients mixing, heat and gases exchange across air-sea interface. The energy loss from wave breaking and the bubble plume penetration depth are estimated. As a consequence, the vertical distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy （TKE）, the TKE dissipation rate and the eddy viscosity induced by wave breaking are also provided. It is indicated that model results are found to be consistent with the observational evidence that most TKE generated by wave breaking is lost within a depth of a few meters near the sea surface. High turbulence level with intensities of eddy viscosity induced by breaking is nearly four orders larger than vw1（ = κu ＊wz）, the value predicted for the wall layer scaling close to the surface, where u ＊w is the friction velocity in water, κ with 0. 4 is the yon Kármán constant, and z is the water depth, and the strength of the eddy viscosity depends both on wind speed and sea state, and decays rapidly through the depth. This leads to the conclusion that the breaking wave induced vertical mixing is mainly limited to the near surface layer, well above the classical values expected from the similarity theory. Deeper down, however, the effects of wave breaking on the vertical mixing become less important.

The effect of the wave-induced mixing on the upper ocean temperature in a climate model

The significant underestimation of sea surface temperature （SST） and the temperature in the upper ocean is one of common problems in present climate models. The influence of the wave-induced mixing on SST and the temperature in the upper ocean was examined based on a global climate model. The results from the model coupled with wave-induced mixing showed a significant improvement in the simulation of SST and the temperature in the upper ocean compared with those of the original model without wave effects. Although there has still a cold bias, the new simulation is much closer to the climatology, especially in the northern ocean and tropical ocean. This study indicates that some important physical processes in the accurate simulation of the ocean may be ignored in present climate models, and the wave-induced mixing is one of those factors. Thus, the wave-induced mixing （ or the effect of surface waves） should be incorporated properly into climate models in order to simulate or forecast the ocean, then climate system, more accurately.

Underwater topography detection of Shuangzi Reefs with SAR images acquired in different time

Imaging mechanism of underwater topography by SAR and a underwater topography SAR detection model built on the theory of underwater topography detection with SAR image presented by Yuan Yeli are used to detect the underwater topography of Shuangzi Reefs in the Nansha Islands with three scenes of SAR images acquired in different time. Detection results of three SAR images are compared with the chart topography and the detection errors are analyzed. Underwater topography detection experiments of Shuangzi Reefs show that the detection model is practicable. The detection results indicate that SAR images acquired in different time also can be used to detect the underwater topography, and the detection results are affected by the ocean conditions in the SAR acquiring time.

Ocean and climate sciences taking grand challenges and extraordinary opportunities:introduction to COAA 2007 special sections

In this universe, the earth is a unique breeding ground for living beings. It bares the evolutions, sustains the survival and enriches the development of human species. The studies of history have indicated that minute changes of the earth＇ s environment may have caused great impacts on the vulnerable balanced ecological systems, endanger the living conditions for human beings and associated cultures. Thus, understanding the nature＇s governing rules of the earth, and clarifying its fundamental laws of sciences are everlasting research topics for the human pursuits.

Surface current field and seasonal variability in the Kuroshio and adjacent regions derived from satellite-tracked drifter data

The muhiyear averaged surface current field and seasonal variability in the Kuroshio and adjacent regions are studied. The data used are trajectories and （1/4） ° latitude by （1/4） ° longitude mean currents derived from 323 Argos drifters deployed by Chinese institutions and world ocean circulation experiment from 1979 to 2003. The results show that the Kuroshio surface path adapts well to the western boundary topography and exhibits six great turnings. The branching occurs frequently near anticyclonic turnings rather than near cyclonic ones. In the Luzon Strait, the surface water intrusion into the South China Sea occurs only in fall and winter. The Kuroshio surface path east of Taiwan, China appears nearly as straight lines in summer, fall, and winter, when anticyclonic eddies coexist on its right side; while the path may cyclonically turning in spring when no eddy exists. The Kuroshio intrusion northeast of Taiwan often occurs in fall and winter, but not in summer. The running direction, width and velocity of the middle segment of the Kuroshio surface currents in the East China Sea vary seasonally. The northward intrusion of the Kuroshio surface water southwest of Kyushu occurs in spring and fall, but not in summer. The northmost position of the Kuroshio surface path southwest of Kyushu occurs in fall, but never goes beyond 31 °N. The northward surface current east of the Ryukyu Islands exists only along Okinawa-Amami Islands from spring to fall. In particular, it appears as an arm of an anti- cyclonic eddy in fall.

Barrier and compensation layers in the East China Sea

Climatology of the isothermal layer depth （ILD） and the mixed layer depth （MLD） has been produced from in-situ temperaturesalinity observations in the East China Sea （ECS） since 1925. The methods applied on the global are used to compute the ILD and the MLD in the ECS with a temperature criterion AT=0. 8 ℃ for the ILD, and a density criterion with a threshold △σθ corresponding to fixed △T=0. 8 ℃ for the MLD, respectively. With the derived climatology ILD and MLD, the monthly variations of the barrier layer （BL） and the compensation layer （CL） in the ECS are analyzed. The BL mainly exists in the shallow water region of the ECS during April-June with thickness larger than 15 m. From December to next March, the area along the shelf break from northeast of Taiwan Island to the northeast ECS is characterized by the CL. Two kinds of main temperature - salinity structures of the CL in this area are given.

A modification to the Munk wind-driven ocean circulation theory

In order to fulfill the no-slip condition at the western and eastern boundaries of the ocean basin, introduced ＂effective wind stress＂, which has much larger spatial variations towards the boundaries than in the ocean interior. The effective wind stress can thus be decomposed into spatially slow-varying and fast varying components. Careful scale analysis on the classical Munk winddriven ocean circulation theory, which consists of the interior Sverdrup flow and the western boundary current but of no eastern boundary current, shows that the wind stress curl appearing in the Sverdrup equation must have negligible spatial variations. In the present model the spatially slow-varying component of the wind stress appears in the Sverdrup equation, and the spatially fastvarying component becomes the forcing term of the boundary equations. As a result, in addition to the classical Munk solution the present model has an extra term at the western boundary which （Northern Hemisphere） increases the northward transport as well as the southward return transport, and has a term at the eastern boundary corresponding to the eastern boundary current.