Vertical exchanges inside the water column and at its interfaces

Topic 1

The scientific research in this topic aims to better represent the vertical exchanges inside the water column and at its atmospheric and benthic interfaces.

The mathematical formulations that are used to describe vertical mixing (eddy diffusion, convection, etc.) in circulation models must be improved. In-situ measurements are therefore required to design new formulations or parametrizations and assess their influence on the representation of vertical profiles of velocity, winter convection, coastal upwelling, or river plumes in various numerical models that are run by OPLC members at different scales. Similarly, mathematical descriptions of the surface and bottom boundary layers are often empirical in circulation models.

The design of new friction formulations in the bottom boundary layer through theoretical and experimental studies, and their assessment with the aforementioned numerical models, is another research direction of the OPLC team. A refined characterization of heat, momentum and mass (especially CO2 and water) fluxes that considers the dynamics of the air-sea interface (swell, wind waves and their breaking, etc.) is another research direction for the boundary layers on both sides of this interface.

The analysis of the physics of this interface and its interaction with electromagnetic waves also aims to improve oceanographic measurements from radar teledetection by allowing better spatial and temporal resolutions of measured variables and/or the identification of new geophysical variables that could be remotely measured from the sea surface or its interior.