Small-Scale Turbulence Measurements in the Thin Surface Layer of the Ocean

Small-scale turbulence parameters in the layer below a wind-blown surface of the ocean can be measured by means of a tethered free-rising profiler. Spectral analysis of the velocity pulsations, measured in the Atlantic Ocean, shows the presence of a frequency band corresponding to the spectrum of local isotopic turbulence in the inertial viscous range. Vertical profiles of dissipation rates of turbulent energy ϵ were calculated according to the vertical component of the velocity turbulent pulsations. Analysis of the vertical profiles of ϵ on the basis of the similarity theory agreed, as a first approximation, with the wall layer analogy proposed by Csanady (1984, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 14, 402–411). Turbulence in the surface layer was suppressed due to the diurnal warming