A numerical study on Langmuir circulations and coherent vortical structures beneath surface waves

Langmuir circulations (LCs) arise through the interaction between the Lagrangian drift of the surface waves and the wind-driven shear layer. Quasi-streamwise vortices (QSVs) also form in the turbulent shear layer next to a flat surface. Both vortical structures manifest themselves by inducing wind-aligned streaks on the surface. In this study, numerical simulations of a stress-driven turbulent shear layer bounded by monochromatic surface waves are conducted to reveal the vortical structures of LCs and QSVs, and their interactions. The LC structure is educed from conditional averaging guided by the signatures of predominant streaks obtained from empirical mode decomposition; the width of the averaged LC pair is found to be comparable to the most unstable wavelength of the Craik–Leibovich equation. Coherent vortical structures (CVSs) are identified using a detection criterion based on local analysis of the velocity-gradient tensor and their topological geometry; QSVs accumulated beneath the windward surface are found to dominate the distribution. Employing the variable-interval spatial average to the identified QSVs further reveals that QSVs tend to form in the edge vicinity of the surface streaks induced by the LCs. The transport budgets of streamwise enstrophy are examined to reveal the interaction. It is found that QSVs perturb the streaks resulting in a localized streamwise gradient of the spanwise velocity, that is, vertical vorticity. The vertical shear tilts the vertical vorticity, therefore enhancing streamwise enstrophy production and the formation of QSVs. The results highlight the differences in the CVSs between the Langmuir turbulence and the wall turbulence.