Submesoscale and boundary layer turbulence under mesoscale forcing in the upper ocean

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution large-eddy simulations to explore how mesoscale eddies influence submesoscale fronts and boundary layer turbulence, revealing significant heterogeneity and hotspots driven by mesoscale forcing.

Contribution

It provides a novel process-level analysis of multiscale interactions in the upper ocean, highlighting the impact of mesoscale heterogeneity on turbulence and submesoscales.

Findings

Turbulent kinetic energy varies by an order of magnitude along fronts.

Stronger mesoscale convergence enhances boundary layer turbulence.

Divergence regions show intense front distortion and buoyancy production.

Abstract

The interaction among quasi-geostrophic mesoscale eddies, submesoscale fronts, and boundary layer turbulence (BLT) is a central problem in upper ocean dynamics. We investigate these multiscale dynamics using a novel large-eddy simulation on a \qty{100}{\kilo\meter}-scale domain with meter-scale resolution. The simulation resolves BLT energized by uniform surface wind and convective forcing. A front interacts with BLT within a prescribed, spatially inhomogeneous mesoscale eddy field, representing a canonical eddy quadrupole. Using a triple flow decomposition, we analyze the dynamic coupling and kinetic energy budgets among the large-scale field, submesoscale field, and the resolved BLT. Our analysis reveals significant heterogeneity in the structure and intensity of submesoscales and BLT under varying mesoscale forcing. Turbulent kinetic energy and production rates can vary by an order of magnitude along the front, creating distinct turbulent hotspots whose locations are tied to the underlying large-scale flow. The region under stronger mesoscale convergence holds stronger horizontal and vertical geostrophic shear productions for BLT, and stronger self-production and BLT-destruction for submesoscales. In contrast, the region under dominant mesoscale divergence holds dramatic distortion of the front isotherm, along with dominant submesoscale vertical buoyancy production and self-destruction. Within this idealized framework, these results provide a controlled process-level characterization of how prescribed mesoscale heterogeneity modulates BLT and submesoscales in the ocean mixed layer, which can inform future parameterization developments.