The effect on simulated ocean climate of a parameterization of unbroken wave-induced mixing incorporated into the k-epsilon mixing scheme

Abstract

A new parameterization of mixing processes in the upper ocean is tested in a1=48resolutionglobal ocean climate model. The parameterization represents the effect of turbulent mixing by unbrokenwaves as an additional turbulent shear production term in the k-epsilon mixing scheme. The results showthat the inclusion of this parameterization has a noticeable effect on ocean climate, particularly in regionsof high wave activity such as the Southern Ocean. Inclusion of this process also leads to some reduction inthe biases of the simulated climate, including mixed layer depth, compared with available observations.