Langmuir circulation (Lc) is a wind

and wave driven helical flow pattern in

lakes, seas, rivers and channels. Lc
consists of parallel, counter-rotating
horizontal vortex pairs oriented roughly
parallel to the wind direction (Fig. 1A).
The surface convergence zones of the
counter-rotating cells, where water and
momentum are transported downward
into the flow interior are marked by long,
linear, parallel surface streaks of
collected foam, bubbles, seaweed or
floating debris.
Fig. 1: Lc (A), surface frazil
windrows (B), and remotely sensed
Arctic flaw leads (C).
The downwind propagating, convergent cell rotation characteristic of Lc is generated by
the interaction of wind-induced Stokes drift and surface gravity waves with vertical
turbulence resulting from wind-driven cross-wave trains and surface currents. Lc cell width
(cell: pair of counter rotating vortices) is ~2-2.5 times the mixed layer depth, so individual
roll vortices are roughly circular in cross section and approximately represent the water depth
penetrated. Cell width may vary from a few cm to hundreds of m, and the vortices can be
many km long. Downwelling velocities at surface convergence zones of Lc cells generally
exceed upwelling velocities at surface divergences, and can reach few cms-1 to ~25cms-1.
Lc vertically distributes gas, heat, and momentum throughout the oceanic surface mixed
layer, and has impact on the advection and distribution of microorganism communities.
Langmuir cells penetrating shallow coastal water columns down to the seabed are an
important mechanism for major sediment resuspension and transport events.
In the Arctic Ocean, Lc-related quasi-parallel windrows of floating frazil are commonly
observed during the initial stages of ice formation on the surface of flaw leads and polynyas,
or during freeze-up period (Fig. 2B). Recently, Lc-related mechanisms like sediment resuspension and entrainment of particles into newly forming ice (suspension freezing) in
shallow Arctic coastal waters (Fig. 1C) and freezing lakes have attracted increasing scientific
attention.
In freezing tank experiments Lc results
from the superimposition of wind-wave
induced surface stress and the longitudinal
primary flow consisting of the surface
downwind flow and the upwind bottom
return flow components (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Lc in tank experiments.

The superimposed helical Lc vortices are

considered as secondary flow. Experimental
results support the potential of helical Lc flow to
cause the entrainment of fine-grained sediment by
frazil ice (suspension freezing) into newly
forming ice in freezing waters through enhanced
turbulence-induced co-concentration of frazil and
particles (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3: Lc-induced helical frazil trajectory in the
process of suspension freezing.
The variable and short-live subsurface interior flow of Lc was documented by
individual frazil motion, and first time ever through digitally mapped video material and
dimensional analysis of helical potassium permanganate dye bands used as Lagrangian tracer.
We conclude that the role of Lc in the process of suspension freezing in our experiments is:
(i) to remove sediment from close to the bottom and maintain particles (frazil and sediment)
in suspension on various retention trajectories depending on particle size and density, (ii)
forcing frazil and sediment of different sizes to re-circulate on the retention trajectories, and
(iii) bringing frazil and sediment particles into contact, thereby promoting the sediment
entrainment into newly forming frazil and grease ice.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Dethleff, D., Kempema, E., Koch, R. & Chubarenko, I. (in prep.) Succession of Couette flow and Langmuir
circulation in tank experiments. Cold Regions Science and Technology.
Dethleff, D., Kempema, E., Koch, R. & Chubarenko, I. (2009) On the helical flow of Langmuir circulation approaching the process of suspension freezing. Cold Regions Science and Technology, DOI:
10.1016/j.coldregions.2008.10.002
Dethleff, D. & Kempema, E. (2007) Langmuir circulation driving sediment entrainment into newly formed
ice Tank experiment results with application to nature (Lake Hattie, USA; Kara Sea, Siberia), Journal of
Geophysical Research, 112, CO2004, doi:10.1029/2005JC003259.
Kempema, E. & Dethleff, D. (2006) The role of Langmuir circulation in suspension freezing. Annals of
Glaciology, 44, 58-62.
Dethleff, D. (2005) Entrainment and export of Laptev Sea ice sediments, Siberian Arctic. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 110, C7, C07009, 10.1029/2004JC002740.
Haas, C., Cottier, F., Smedsrud, L.H., Thomas, D., Buschmann, U., Dethleff, D., Gerland, S., Giannelli, V.,
Hlemann, J., Tison, J.-P., and Wadhams, P. (1999), Multidisciplinary ice tank study shedding new light on
sea ice growth processes. EOS Transaction, AGU, Vol. 80, No. 43, pp. 507, 509, 513.