Ocean mixing

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Turbulent ocean mixing controls processes ranging from the meridional thermohaline overturning cell (also known as the global conveyor belt) and so ocean climatological timescales,  nutrient supply to sunlit surface waters, and dispersion of anthropogenic and natural material.  In the stratified ocean interior, turbulence is largely controlled by breaking of internal gravity wave.  The past decade has established that mixing is weak in the interior, focussing attention on ocean boundaries.  My research group will continue to collect and interpret observations relating mixing, turbulence and internal waves with particular attention to topographically-generated turbulence in canyons, over ridges and on the continental slope seeking pathways between deep and shallow waters.  We will also continue to use and test turbulence parameterizations that rely on internal wave shear and strain.  Turbulent mixing must be parameterized as a subgridscale process in global and regional numerical models.  Improved parameterizations that can relate mixing to larger-scale resolved model quantities are important because they will improve the forecasting reliability in regional and climate models, thus improving our ability to predict the response of Earth's climate and local waters to natural and anthropogenic forcing.  Our longterm goal is the development of such improved parameterizations.