Polar Sea Convective Instabilities Project

The scientific objective of the polar sea convection project is to understand the open-ocean coupled Arctic sea mixed layer-ice system response to the passage of atmospheric storms. The numerical models will consist of a large-eddy simulation (LES) model, an existing ocean PE model with embedded turbulence closure mixed layer , and an ice model with realistic thermodynamic and mechanical properties. The proposed work will include the previously-neglected physics to predict the onset of "super-penetrative" convection by conditional instabilities. These convection process, termed "parcel" and "layer" instabilities may lead to the deepest oceanic convection and possible formation of bottom water. The principal goal is to realistically simulate conditional instabilities in the Arctic.

Surface Velocity and Temperature Fields