An Improved Bio-Physical Parameterization for Ocean Radiant Heating in Conditions of Near-Surface Stratification.

Solar heating of the upper ocean is a primary energy input to the ocean-atmosphere system, and the vertical heating profile is modified by the concentration of phytoplankton in the water, with consequences for sea surface temperature and upper ocean dynamics. Despite the development of increasingly complex modeling approaches for radiative transfer in the atmosphere and upper ocean, the simple parameterizations of radiant heating used in most ocean models can be significantly improved in cases of near-surface stratification. There remains a need for a parameterization that is accurate in the upper meters and contains an explicitly spectral dependence on the concentration of biogenic material, while maintaining the computational simplicity of the parameterizations currently in use.

The suppression of ocean waves by biogenic slicks.

Ocean waves are significantly damped by biogenic surfactants, which accumulate at the sea surface in every ocean basin. The growth, development, and breaking of short wind-driven surface waves are key mediators of the air-sea exchange of momentum, heat and trace gases. The mechanisms through which surfactants suppress waves have been studied in great detail through careful laboratory experimentation in quasi-one-dimensional wave tanks.

High Salinity Shelf Water production rates in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea from high-resolution salinity observations.

High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) formed in the Ross Sea of Antarctica is a precursor to Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), a water mass that constitutes the bottom limb of the global overturning circulation. HSSW production rates are poorly constrained, as in-situ observations are scarce. Here, we present high-vertical-and-temporal-resolution salinity time series collected in austral winter 2017 from a mooring in Terra Nova Bay (TNB), one of two major sites of HSSW production in the Ross Sea.

Parsing the Kinetic Energy Budget of the Ocean Surface Mixed Layer.

The total rate of work done on the ocean by the wind is of considerable interest for understanding global energy balances, as the energy from the wind drives ocean currents, grows surface waves, and forces vertical mixing. A large but unknown fraction of this atmospheric energy is dissipated by turbulence in the upper ocean. The focus of this work is twofold.