Several years ago we performed a controlled dust-deposition experiment in order to determine the transformation and dynamics of trace metals in the sea-surface microlayer. The sea-surface microlayer is a 20-100um thick layer of seawater that forms a “skin” over the ocean. We care about the sea-surface microlayer because it has unique chemistry and can alter dust as it enters the ocean, thereby changing its biological accessibility. I was tasked with developing a model for this project.
The model has several key requirements:
- < 50um vertical resolution in surface
- Model 0 – 30 cm (minimum) water column
- Run for ~100 hours
- Species specific molecular diffusion
- Include mixing diffusivity
- Obey CFL criteria (aka doesn’t ‘blow up’)