The scaling of shear generated turbulence

Seminar by Prof. Kelvin Richards from University of Hawaii

02 May 2022
KST 14:00 – 15:00

The Seminar is being held in Room 1010 (Jasmin) – Integrated mechanical engineering building. Click here for the campus map.

Turbulence generated by sheared motions can have a large impact on the mixing of properties in both the ocean and atmosphere. There is a need to elucidate the factors controlling the level of turbulence and in particular its vertical distribution. Here, we formulate an expression for the turbulence and test it against measurements taken in the western equatorial Pacific. We find a good correspondence highlighting the need to take into account the vertical variation of small-scale flow features. The results are useful in interpreting observations and accounting for the turbulence in GCMs through parameterizations.