Whitecaps, Bubbles and Advection: Insights From Concurrent Measurements in the Open Ocean

Abstract Field measurements of breaking waves and bubble depths were obtained using a stereo video system collocated with a submerged acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in the central North Sea. We discriminate between two bubble depths that define an active near‐surface layer and a deeper layer. The active layer intermittently sees short‐lived injected bubble depths from breakers whereas the deeper layer is dominated by persistent passive bubble plumes that remain visible for more than 50 mean wave periods. We augment traditional single‐beam bubble detection methods by utilizing all five beams of the ADCP to achieve broader spatial coverage of bubble plume measurements. The combined wave and bubble observations reveal that deep bubble plumes often occur offset spatially from surface whitecaps, suggesting that Langmuir‐type circulation plays a role in the formation and persistence of deep bubble plumes through vertical and horizontal advection.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-11-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl117684
Primary Topic
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Whitecaps, Bubbles and Advection: Insights From Concurrent Measurements in the Open Ocean

Mara Pistellato, Joseph Peach, Adrian H. Callaghan, Trygve Halsne et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
article

Whitecaps, Bubbles and Advection: Insights From Concurrent Measurements in the Open Ocean

Mara Pistellato, Joseph Peach, Adrian H. Callaghan, Trygve Halsne, Alvise Benetazzo, Mika Malila, Filippo Bergamasco, Maria Bjørnestad, Øyvind Breivik, Silvio Davison, Göran Broström
article en

Abstract

Abstract Field measurements of breaking waves and bubble depths were obtained using a stereo video system collocated with a submerged acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in the central North Sea. We discriminate between two bubble depths that define an active near‐surface layer and a deeper layer. The active layer intermittently sees short‐lived injected bubble depths from breakers whereas the deeper layer is dominated by persistent passive bubble plumes that remain visible for more than 50 mean wave periods. We augment traditional single‐beam bubble detection methods by utilizing all five beams of the ADCP to achieve broader spatial coverage of bubble plume measurements. The combined wave and bubble observations reveal that deep bubble plumes often occur offset spatially from surface whitecaps, suggesting that Langmuir‐type circulation plays a role in the formation and persistence of deep bubble plumes through vertical and horizontal advection.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(21)
Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NO), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (IT), Istituto di Scienze Marine del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IT), University of Bergen (NO), Imperial College London (GB), University of Gothenburg (SE)
Imperial College London, Norges Forskningsråd, Natural Environment Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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