Vertical structure of buoyancy transport by ocean baroclinic turbulence

TL;DR

This paper develops a parameterization for the vertical structure of buoyancy transport caused by ocean baroclinic turbulence, validated against simulations, aiding climate models in accurately representing ocean mixing processes.

Contribution

It provides a parameter-free, quantitative prediction for the vertical buoyancy flux profile based on quasi-geostrophic dynamics, improving existing modeling approaches.

Findings

Quantitative agreement with numerical simulations

Physically based expression for buoyancy flux profile

Enhances parameterization in climate models

Abstract

Ocean mesoscale eddies enhance meridional buoyancy transport, notably in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current where they contribute to setting the deep stratification of the neighboring ocean basins. The much-needed parameterization of this buoyancy transport in global climate models requires a theory for the overall flux, but also for its vertical structure inside the fluid column. Based on the quasi-geostrophic dynamics of an idealized patch of ocean hosting an arbitrary vertically sheared zonal flow, we provide a quantitative prediction for the vertical structure of the buoyancy flux without adjustable parameters. The prediction agrees quantitatively with meridional flux profiles obtained through numerical simulations of an idealized patch of ocean with realistic parameter values. This work empowers modelers with an explicit and physically based expression for the vertical profile of buoyancy transport by ocean baroclinic turbulence, as opposed to the common practice of using arbitrary prescriptions for the depth-dependence of the transport coefficients.