Project Info


Links


Turbulence Structure in the Surface Layer Over Deep Ocean Waves

The unique research platform R/P FLIP. (photo Carl Friehe)

Collaborators
Carl Friehe, Mechanical Engineering,UC Irvine
Tihomir Hristov, Johns Hopkins University
Jim Edson, University of Connecticut

The unique research platform R/P FLIP was used for 30 days in April-May 1995 off of Monterey, California, to study the interactions of the wind and upper ocean in the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) experiment, Phase II. The physics of the energy exchanges between the air and ocean are not well understood and require specific experiments to obtain parameterizations of the complex processes for use in computer models of weather forecasting, climate studies, ocean wave prediction and upper-ocean thermal structure. We measured profiles of wind and wind turbulence in the first 20 meters of the atmosphere over the ocean, including 5 levels of ultrasonic anemometers. Such vertical resolution of turbulence is rarely measured over land, let alone over the deep ocean. We measured a wide array of wind and wave conditiosn over 12 days, resulting in a unique data set to study air-sea interaction.

Publications
Please refer to the Publications page. Search for the keyphrase "air-sea interaction"