High-resolution turbulence simulations are used to examine the importance of melt
pond geometry in setting pond growth rates and albedo. Modeling the circulation of
water in melt ponds using large-eddy simulation shows that both convective and windforced
conditions generate well-mixed ponds, suggesting that stratification is not a
significant factor in...
Ice-ocean heat exchange in polar leads was examined using a large-eddy simulation
model coupled to a slab ice model. Simulations were performed using an idealized square
domain for a range of lead sizes, surface wind stress (0.05–0.1 N/m²), and lead
temperature/salinity profiles. Particular emphasis was placed on understanding the role...
Repeated microstructure transects across filaments in the coastal transition zone (CTZ) have
Revealed fundamental structure and dynamics of the complicated features. The measurements allow
detailed momentum and vorticity analyses and provide a possible explanations for structural
asymmetry of the fronts. Observations made between July 2 and July 23, 1988, along...
Twelve days of microstructure measurements at the equator (140°W) in November 1984 showed a
surprisingly strong effect of both daily cycle of solar heating and wind on mixing in the upper ocean.
Because of limited variations in atmospheric forcing and currents during the experiment, processes in the
daily mixing cycle...
Internal gravity waves measured under the Arctic pack ice were strikingly different from measurements
at lower latitudes. The total wave energy, integrated over the internal wave frequency band, was lower by
a factor of 0.03-0.07, and the spectral slope at high frequency was nearly -1 in contrast to the -2...
A thermistor chain was towed 1400 km through the eastern North Pacific subtropical frontal zone in
January 1980. The observations resolve surface layer temperature features with horizontal wavelengths of
0.2-200 km and vertical scales of 10-70 m. The dominant features, which have horizontal wavelengths of
10-100 km, amplitudes of 0.2°-1.0°C,...
Horizontal wave number spectra of temperature in the unstably stratified oceanic surface layer were determined from measurements on a bow boom at a depth of 2 m. Spectra were estimated in the wavelength band from 2 m to 2 km, normalized in accordance with Monin-Obukhov similarity theory, and averaged in...
Vertical cross-sections of temperature in the Sargasso Sea and across
the Gulf Stream and a warm core ring were obtained with a towed thermistor
chain in September 1981. The thermistors were distributed in the upper
70 to 120 m during three runs. Salinity was also measured at two locations
on...
The FRONTS-80 experiment is a joint investigation supported by the
Office of Naval Research (ONR) as the lead agency with additional contributions
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
the National Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Navy and the Canadian
Forces. Support from these agencies is gratefully acknowledged. We...
This report presents time series measurements of velocity, temperature and conductivity made during the Lead Experiment (LEADEX). These observations were made in the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean, in the vicinity of 73°N, 144°W, during March-April 1992. Month-long observations at the base camp were made between the surface and 400 m...