INTERACTION BETWEEN THE OCEANIC MESOSCALE AND THE SURFACE MIXED-LAYER

A semianalytic solution to the mutual interaction of a Rossby wave and the surface mixed layer is derived, The presence of the mixed layer c auses neither damping nor growth of the interior motions; modal struct ures and frequencies are simply altered by a small amount. Rossby wave motions perturb the surface boundary layer quite significantly. Verti cal transports arising from both the wave itself and its interaction w ith the Ekman flow cause entrainment and detrainment and create comple x remnant layer structures below the mixed layer. The semianalytic sol ution is used to benchmark a coupled quasigeostrophic and surface boun dary layer numerical model. Intricate numerical techniques are require d to maintain the fidelity of the mixed layer-remnant layer interface and the structures below it. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B. V.