Dynamics of inertial particles on the ocean surface with unrestricted reserve buoyancy

TL;DR

This paper enhances a Maxey-Riley model for inertial particles on the ocean surface by removing buoyancy constraints, enabling accurate description of particles with varying buoyancy levels, including neutral and full buoyancy cases.

Contribution

The paper introduces a refined model that accurately captures the dynamics of inertial particles with unrestricted reserve buoyancy on the ocean surface.

Findings

Model now correctly describes neutrally buoyant particles.

Model now correctly describes fully buoyant particles.

Provides a unified framework for different buoyancy scenarios.

Abstract

The purpose of this note is to present an enhancement to a Maxey-Riley theory proposed in recent years for the dynamics of inertial particles on the ocean surface. This model upgrade removes constraints on the reserve buoyancy, defined as the fraction of the particle volume above the ocean surface. The refinement results in an equation that correctly describes both the neutrally buoyant and fully buoyant particle scenarios.