Collaborative Research: Mixing in the Equatorial Thermocline (MIXET)

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The project is a combined observational and modeling study of small-vertical-scale velocity structures (SVSs) in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The PIs have very strong credentials, prior accomplishments , and have designed a comprehensive field experiment and numerical process studies to achieve their goals. The observations will be made using an array of moorings with profiling sensors that move on the mooring lines, and instrument deployments during two cruises to measure ocean structure, currents, and microstructure turbulence. Numerical modeling will be used to test the formation of SVSs by wind forcing, shear instability, and instabilities of internal gravity waves. The project has strong intellectual merit in both the topic of study and the synergy between observations and modeling.Intellectual Merit: The robustness of climate predictions depends on the effectiveness of atmosphere and ocean models to capture the essential physics of the problem. The strong relationship between the coupled ocean/atmosphere system and ocean mixing means that mixing has to be right. For instance, the linking of thermocline mixing to wind variability through NIO propagation raises the possibility of scale?interactions producing significant feedbacks between ENSO and small?scale mixing. The work has the potential to yield transformative results on the processes that control the mixing of heat and momentum in the equatorial oceans, which is pertinent to attempts to model and predict changes in climate. The proposal includes the training and mentorship of a graduate student. The student will gain skills in linking observations and models which are vitally important in improving the reliability of models used in societally relevant science. Outreach activities will include: a web site publicizing the science behind the project and results, the inclusion of results in courses given by the PIs, and an invitation to a local high school teacher to participate in one or more cruises. Overall this project is a bold and comprehensive approach to studying poorly understood oceanic features with wide ranging implications for oceanography and climate.