Comparison of the nonlocal transport characteristics of a series of one-dimensional oceanic boundary layer models

Seven one-dimensional oceanic boundary layer models are investigated to assess the possible nonlocal transport characteristics of mass and heat in the upper ocean. The dynamical models have been chosen from the diffusion and bulk types currently in use plus two modifications of the transilient type that have been used extensively for atmospheric work by Stull. The models are forced using wind speed and insolation conditions recorded during a 9-day oceanographic cruise near Bermuda in March 1993 during the decline of the spring bloom. The attenuation of sunlight in the upper ocean is calculated using a full spectral model for downwelling irradiance. The vertical heat transport characteristics are reported and compared. A series of spectral diagnostic tests (Green's function analysis, process spectra, and overall mixing lengths) reveal significant differences in the vertical transport characteristics of the models that are not observed in commonly used diagnostics such as sea surface temperature or mixed layer depth. Age spectra (or modal time since last surface contact) are calculated from Green's functions and reveal how a water mass can be cut off from the surface within a short time period. The large differences in the vertical mixing characteristics of the upper ocean boundary layer models have potential implications on the vertical distributions of short-lived chemical tracers and phytoplankton.