A generic two-equation turbulence model for geophysical applications

There have been many developments in two-equation second moment turbulence closure models, since the pioneering work of Mellor and Yamada (1982) more than two decades ago, and the follow-on work by Galperin et al. (1988) and Kantha and Clayson (1994). Progress has been especially rapid in recent years, for example, the inclusion of surface wave breaking and Langmuir cell-induced turbulence by Kantha and Clayson (2004) and the development of generic length scale models (Umlauf and Burchard 2003, Kantha 2003, 2004). We present and discuss here an update of the Kantha and Clayson (1994) two-equation model for planetary boundary layers incorporating the developments in recent years and the development of a generic length scale model that can simulate many of the existing turbulence models such as the k-ε and q2-q2l models. Applications to classical experiments and observations on mixing in the upper ocean will be discussed.