- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Interactions of sea surface waves and ocean circulation are traditionally modeled using simplified parameterizations, often based on global ocean data. More refined estimates of wave-ocean interactions on hydrodynamics can be achieved through coupled models with both wave and ocean components. When moving from implicit parameterizations to explicit formulations, reevaluation of the parameterizations governing momentum and energy transfer as well as vertical mixing and turbulence is inevitable. This is particularly important in coastal waters, where the scale of wave-ocean interactions differs from that of the open ocean.
We consider the impacts of surface waves in ocean mixing in fetch-limited regions using an offline coupled WAVEWATCH III–NEMO setup for the Baltic Sea. We find that an optimized sea surface roughness parameterization, based on WAVEWATCH III data, reduces sea surface roughness under high wind conditions compared to the default parameterization in the ocean model’s GLS turbulent closure scheme. When combined with wave-modified ocean-side stress, the optimized parameterization leads to improved predictions of mixed layer depth and sea surface height compared to a stand-alone ocean model.
How to cite: Tuomi, L., Haapaniemi, V., and Kanarik, H.: Parameterizing sea surface wave impacts on ocean mixing in fetch-limited regions , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12163, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12163, 2025.