Large eddy simulation of turbulent wind over realistic seas with frequent wave breaking events

在大风和海况条件下的海气相互作用是物理海洋学和海洋气象学中最重要但又最不为人所知的研究领域之一。破碎波支撑着很大一部分海气动量通量，改变了大气边界层内的湍流场。这种变化导致在边界层模型和预测中使用的（雷诺）数估计不足。大涡模拟（LES）是一种很有前途的新模式，它在模拟大气边界层内的湍流动力学时考虑了海洋表面波的影响。通过这项研究，来自罗德岛大学、国家大气研究中心和雷丁大学的海洋学家和大气科学家将开发一种新的大气边界层LES方法，用于解释间歇性破碎波事件。该模拟将允许详细研究破碎波对边界层湍流和海气动量通量的影响，并将为研究海喷的产生、演变及其对海气热通量的影响提供框架。这项研究的结果将为理解海面破浪如何影响和海气相互作用提供基础，这可以用于更准确地预测自然灾害事件期间的极端风浪。

Air-sea interaction under high wind and sea state conditions is one of the most important, yet least understood research areas of physical oceanography and marine meteorology. Breaking waves, which support a significant fraction of air-sea momentum flux, alters the turbulence field inside the atmospheric boundary layer. This variation results in insufficient estimations of (Reynolds) numbers which are used in boundary layer models and predictions. The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is a promising new model that will take the effects of ocean surface waves into account when modeling turbulence dynamics inside the atmospheric boundary layer. Through this research, oceanographers and atmospheric scientists from the University of Rhode Island, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Reading will develop a new atmospheric boundary layer LES methodology that accounts for intermittent breaking wave events. This simulation will allow for a detailed investigation of the effects of breaking waves on boundary layer turbulence and air-sea momentum flux and will provide the framework to investigate sea spray generation, evolution, and its impact on air-sea heat flux. The results from this research will provide a basis for understanding how surface breaking waves affect and air-sea interactions, which could be used in more accurately forecasting extreme winds and waves during natural hazard events.