An investigation of momentum exchange parameterizations and atmospheric forcing for the Coastal Mixing and Optics Program

This thesis presents an investigation of the influence of surface waves on momentum exchange. A quantitative comparison of direct covariance friction velocity measurements to bulk aerodynamic and inertial dissipation estimates indicates that both indirect methods systematically underestimate the momentum flux into developing seas. To account for wave-induced processes and yield improved flux estimates, modifications to the traditional flux parameterizations are explored. Modification to the bulk aerodynamic method involves incorporating sea state dependence into the roughness length calculation. For the inertial dissipation method, a new parameterization for the dimensionless dissipation rate is proposed. The modifications lead to improved momentum flux estimates for both methods.

Department dc:contributor.department

M.I.T./W.H.O.I. Joint Program Review Committee.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1998

Author dc:creator

• Martin, Michiko J

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James B. Edson and Steven P. Andreson.

• /W.H.O.I. Joint Program Review Committee.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/55324

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/55324