Surface drift and small-scale dispersion due to Langmuir circulation

This project is directly related to the TReX project as it plans to exploit data that were collected during the Fall 2020 surface experiment. It particularly addresses the need to develop and demonstrate Canadian capacity for the forecasting of contaminant dispersal and biogeochemical transformation in coastal marine environments. The overall long-term goals of this research are to develop a parameterization of the dispersion that occurs at small scales and to further improve drift models with a better understanding of the role of the Langmuir circulation. The project two main objectives are:

1. To analyse the skin drifter dataset and the rhodamine aerial surveys to characterize the Langmuir circulation and the small scale dispersion.

2. To test, verify and develop parameterizations for the surface drift velocity and anisotropic dispersion rates due the Langmuir circulation, as a function of available environmental kinematic conditions.