Internal Wave Mixing near Energetic Sources

University Of California-San Diego Scripps Inst Of Oceanography, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This study examines the role of internal waves in mixing near source regions of internal waves by studying several different types of non-linear internal-wave interaction problems. Numerical experiments will be used to examine three different regimes. The first will look at the nonlinear cascade of energy between short and long internal waves in a run-down experiment initialized with a high-energy, random-phase internal wave field with a spectrum similar to that postulated by Garrett and Munk. The second set of experiments will look at energy transfer from internal waves at the frequency of the M2 tide, forced by tidal excursions over topography, to higher frequency internal waves when that tranfer is catalyzed by the presence of a background field of internal waves. The third focus is on interactions between wind-forced near-inertial waves and non-inertial internal waves. The numerical experiments will be conducted with a three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic, psuedospectral code. The numerical results will be compared to field data collected during a variety of prior oceanic and coastal experiments.