The
upper most layers of the ocean, along with the lower
atmospheric boundary layer, play a crucial role in
the air-sea fluxes of momentum, heat, and mass, thereby
providing important boundary conditions for both the
atmosphere and the oceans that control the evolution
of weather and climate. In particular, the fluxes
of heat and gas rely on exchange processes through
the molecular layers, which are usually located within
the viscous layer, which is in turn modulated by the
waves and the turbulence at the free surface. The
understanding of the multiple interactions
between, molecular layers, viscous layers, waves and
turbulence is therefore paramount for an adequate
parameterization of these fluxes.
During several field experiemnts, we have found
evidence of a clear coupling between the surface
waves, the surface temperature, and the surface
turbulence. The modulation of the surface temperature
by the waves lead to a measurable wave-coherent
air-sea heat flux. When averaged over time scales
longer than the wave period, the coupling between
the surface temperature and turbulence leads to
a spatial relationship between the temperature,
divergence and vorticity fields that is consistent
with spatial patterns of Langmuir turbulence. On
time scales for which the surface wave field is
resolved, we show that the surface turbulence is
modulated by the waves in a manner qualitatively
consistent with rapid distortion theory.
A summary paper can be downloaded here.
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