Collaborative Research: The role of eddies in the propagation and dissipation of wind-driven near-inertial energy: a numerial study bridging OGCM and process simulations

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will examine how energy from wind forcing of the ocean propagates into the ocean interior and dissipates. The methods used include combining different types of numerical models to examine the detailed physical processes governing wind forced near-inertial wave energy in the presence of ocean eddies. The study also includes collaboration with French researchers to make comparisons with and analyze observations from the LAgrangian Transport Experiment (LATEX). The results will be useful for developing improved physical representations of mixing processes in climate ocean models. Results will be disseminated to the scientific community through presentations at conferences and scientific publications. The project will support one undergraduate student in summer research. While the role of anticyclonic eddies in fluxing near-inertial energy into the deep ocean has long been established observationally, theoretically and numerically, the fate of this energy once it leaves the mixed layer remains unconstrained. Observations at depths remain relatively sparse. The proposed research will use numerical modeling and analysis of observational data to explore interactions between eddies and near-inertial waves and determine the dissipation processes for wind-driven near-inertial waves (NIW) in the presence of mesoscale eddies. A Boussinesq model with high vertical resolution and non-hydrostatic dynamics will be nested in a regional circulation model (NEMO-GLAZUR64) to provide realistic forcing and boundary conditions. The model results will be compared with data from the LATEX experiment in the Gulf of Lyon. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.