Simulation of inertial droplet dispersion and the spray mediated fluxes in the atmospheric boundary layer above waved water surface: a Lagrangian stochastic model versus direct numerical simulation

Abstract

Abstract Lagrangian stochastic models (LSM) are widely used to model the dispersion of sea spray droplets injected from the water surface into the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) and for evaluation of the spray impact on the exchange fluxes between the atmosphere and the ocean. While moving through the MABL the droplets pass through the region of high gradients of air velocity, temperature and humidity occurring in the vicinity of the air-water interface. In this case, the applicability of LSMs constructed under the assumption of weakly inhomogeneous flows is questionable. In this work, we develop a Lagrangian stochastic model taking into account the strongly inhomogeneous structure of the airflow in MABL and, in particular, the anisotropy of turbulence dissipation rate. The model constants and the diffusion matrix coefficients are calibrated by comparison of the LSM prediction for the profiles of droplet concentration and the exchange fluxes of sensible and latent heat against the results of direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent, droplet-laden airflow over a waved water surface.