Qiao et al. (2026) Turbulent mixing by non-breaking surface waves in the ocean: theory, observation and modeling

Identification

• Journal: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-10-14
• Authors: Fangli Qiao, Norden Eh Huang, Meng Wei, Weishuai Yuan, Chuanjiang Huang, Ka Kit Tung
• DOI: 10.1038/s41612-026-01554-x

Research Groups

• First Institute of Oceanography, Key Laboratory of Marine Science and Numerical Modeling, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, China.
• Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Short Summary

This study provides a theoretical foundation for turbulence generated by non-breaking surface waves in the ocean, showing that the resulting vertical mixing extends to a depth of the horizontal wavelength of the surface wave. The mechanism of stretching and tilting of turbulence vortex tubes by the wave's orbital velocity is responsible for the growth of turbulence from background noise.

Objective

• Investigate the interaction between non-breaking surface waves and turbulence in the ocean.
• Develop a theoretical foundation for the generation of turbulence by non-breaking surface waves.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with a focus on the upper ocean mixed layer.
• Temporal Scale: Diurnal to seasonal, depending on the specific study site and experimental design.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Navier-Stokes equations, Eulerian coordinates, perturbation expansion.
• Data sources: Field observations from an open-ocean experiment, laboratory experiments, satellite data (not explicitly mentioned).

Main Results

• Theoretical foundation for turbulence generated by non-breaking surface waves.
• Vertical mixing extends to a depth of the horizontal wavelength of the surface wave.
• Mechanism of stretching and tilting of turbulence vortex tubes by the wave's orbital velocity responsible for growth of turbulence from background noise.

Contributions

• Provides a new understanding of the interaction between non-breaking surface waves and turbulence in the ocean.
• Offers a theoretical foundation for the generation of turbulence by non-breaking surface waves, which can be used to improve ocean general circulation models (OGCMs).

Funding

• This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41876022) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0600500).

Citation

@article{Qiao2026Turbulent,
  author = {Qiao, Fangli and Huang, Norden Eh and Wei, Meng and Yuan, Weishuai and Huang, Chuanjiang and Tung, Ka Kit},
  title = {Turbulent mixing by non-breaking surface waves in the ocean: theory, observation and modeling},
  journal = {npj Climate and Atmospheric Science},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1038/s41612-026-01554-x},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01554-x}
}