What controls the deep cycle? Proxies for equatorial turbulence.
Open accessAbstract
Factors thought to influence deep cycle turbulence in the equatorial Pacific are examined statistically for their predictive capacity using a 13-year moored record that includes microstructure measurements of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. Wind stress and mean current shear are found to be most predictive of the dissipation rate. Those variables, together with the solar buoyancy flux and the diurnal mixed layer thickness, are combined to make a pair of useful parameterizations. The uncertainty in these predictions is typically 50% greater than the uncertainty in present-day in situ measurements. To illustrate the use of these parameterizations, the record of deep cycle turbulence, measured directly since 2005, is extended back to 1990 based on historical mooring data. The extended record is used to refine our understanding of the seasonal variation of deep cycle turbulence.
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The present test uses long-term averages and therefore includes many times when the DC turbulence is expected to be weak or absent, e.g., daytime and spring minima.
“In contrast, the present test uses long-term averages and therefore includes many times when the DC turbulence is expected to be weak or absent, e.g., daytime and spring minima (Pham et al., 2017;Smyth et al., 2021).”
From Deep Cycle Turbulence in Atlantic and Pacific Cold Tongues (2022) · cites this paper as Smyth et al., 2021
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Deep Cycle Turbulence in Atlantic and Pacific Cold Tongues
Moum, J. N., Hughes, K. G., Shroyer, E. L., Smyth, W. D., Cherian, D., Warner, S. J., Bourlès, B., Brandt, P., & Dengler, M. (2022) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2021gl097345 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“In contrast, the present test uses long-term averages and therefore includes periods when the DC turbulence is expected to be weak or absent, for example, daytime and spring minima (Pham et al., 2017; Smyth et al., 2021).”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Smyth, W. D., Warner, S. J., Moum, J. N., Pham, H., & Sarkar, S.
- Affiliations
- Oregon State University (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- Corresponding author
- Smyth, W. D.
- Venue
- Journal of Physical Oceanography
- Publisher
- American Meteorological Society
- Published
- 2021-05-27
- ISSN
- 0022-3670 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-0485
- OpenAlex
- W3164170180
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 0.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Physical Oceanography (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1851520, 1355768, 1431518, 1256620)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Keywords
- equatorial Pacific, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation, microstructure measurement, wind stress, current shear, turbulence parameterization, seasonal variation, ocean mixing
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