Destratification and Restratification of the Spring Surface Boundary Layer in a Subtropical Front

Abstract

AbstractDestratification and restratification of a ~50-m-thick surface boundary layer in the North Pacific Subtropical Front are examined during 24–31 March 2017 in the wake of a storm using a ~5-km array of 23 chi-augmented EM-APEX profiling floats (u, υ, T, S, χT), as well as towyo and ADCP ship surveys, shipboard air-sea surface fluxes, and parameterized shortwave penetrative radiation. During the first four days, nocturnal destabilizing buoyancy fluxes mixed the surface layer over almost its full depth every night followed by restratification to N ~ 2 × 10−3 rad s−1 during daylight. Starting on 28 March, nocturnal destabilizing buoyancy fluxes weakened because weakening winds reduced latent heat flux. Shallow mixing and stratified transition layers formed above ~20-m depth. A remnant layer in the lower part of the surface layer was insulated from destabilizing surface forcing. Penetrative radiation, turbulent buoyancy fluxes, and horizontal buoyancy advection all contribute to its restratification, closing the budget to within measurement uncertainties. Buoyancy advective restratification (slumping) plays a minor role. Before 28 March, measured advective restratification is confined to daytime; is often destratifying; and is much stronger than predictions of geostrophic adjustment, mixed-layer eddy instability, and Ekman buoyancy flux because of storm-forced inertial shear. Starting on 28 March, while small, the subinertial envelope of measured buoyancy advective restratification in the remnant layer proceeds as predicted by mixed-layer eddy parameterizations.