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Coastal Langmuir circulations induce phase-locked modulation of bathymetric stress

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Abstract

The ocean boundary layer (OBL) is forced by atmosphere-ocean and sea ice-ocean momentum fluxes, wave dynamics, and buoyancy; in coastal zones, OBL dynamics are further complicated by additional shear from the seafloor. Among numerous other phenomena, coastal mixing affects dispersion of anthropogenic quantities, erosion and turbidity, and benthic sequestration. In the OBL, interaction of wind-induced shear and surface waves manifests so-called Langmuir turbulence and distinctive Langmuir cells under favorable conditions, which have implications for the aforementioned coastal processes. Large-eddy simulation was used to dynamically sample the flow during relative extremes in bathymetric stress and vertical velocity. Probability density functions of vertical velocity are bimodal, the signature of persistent upwelling and downwelling within Langmuir cells, and this attribute manifests itself in the bathymetric stress, revealing a phase-locked modulation. We report modulation between negative vertical velocity (downwelling) and relatively elevated bathymetric stresses, thereby revealing that coastal Langmuir turbulence has direct implications for erosion and turbidity.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Texas General Land Office, Oil Spill Program (Program Manager: Steve Buschang) under TGLO Contract # 18-130-000-A670. Computational resources were provided by Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Oceanography, The University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Kalyan Shrestha

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA

    William Anderson

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  1. Kalyan Shrestha
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  2. William Anderson
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Correspondence to William Anderson.

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Shrestha, K., Anderson, W. Coastal Langmuir circulations induce phase-locked modulation of bathymetric stress. Environ Fluid Mech 20, 873–884 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-019-09727-4

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