What is vertical mixing ??

Question

I'm taking enviromental science ; and we're learning about water resources .

Answer 1

An important component of any ocean model is the representation of the vertical mixing processes that take place in the upper layers of the ocean, coupling the atmospheric fluxes above to the deeper ocean below. This 'mixing zone' is highly complex, consisting of turbulent eddies (responding to the surface winds and fluxes) transporting momentum, heat, and salt. Such processes occur on scales below that resolved by present-day models, and are therefore 'parametrised' in terms of the resolved scales through various schemes.