Wave-Vortex Interactions in the Submesoscale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Uncu ◽  
Nicolas Grisouard
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Internal Tide ◽  
Scattered Wave ◽  
Field Approximation ◽  
Relevant Parameter ◽  
Geostrophic Balance ◽  
Vortex Interactions ◽  
Rotating Shallow Water ◽  
Ocean Topography

<p>The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission is the next generation of satellite altimetry, set to launch in early 2022. It will be the first of its kind to provide global sea surface height (SSH) measurements fine enough to begin resolving the submesoscale. In this newly resolvable regime, “slow” flows (jets, vortices…) interact with internal waves by redistributing wave energy to other wave-vectors and frequencies. This introduces the challenge of distinguishing “slow” flows from waves, which is of key importance for inferring ocean circulation, from SSH measurements. I run numerical simulations of the one layer rotating shallow water equations to model the interaction between a single internal tide mode and vortices in (cyclo)geostrophic balance to characterize scattering and map its relevant parameter space. Preliminary results show wave scattering by vortices with Rossby numbers ranging from 0.1-4 that are not explained by the standard methods (frozen-field approximation, ray tracing…) which have been successful in the mesoscale. We find that the Rossby number, the Burger number, and the ratio of the length and velocity scales of the wave and vortex are all necessary to characterize the interaction in submesoscale regimes. Harmonic analysis is used to highlight the direction of the scattered wave energy.</p>

scholarly journals Investigation of the Internal Tides in the Northwest Pacific Ocean Considering the Background Circulation and Stratification

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 3165-3188
Author(s):  
Pengyang Song ◽  
Xueen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Conversion Rate ◽  
Internal Tide ◽  
Internal Tides ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Northwest Pacific Ocean ◽  
Baroclinic Tide ◽  
The Northwest Pacific Ocean

AbstractA global ocean circulation and tide model with nonuniform resolution is used in this work to resolve the ocean circulation globally as well as mesoscale eddies and internal tides regionally. Focusing on the northwest Pacific Ocean (NWP, 0°–35°N, 105°–150°E), a realistic experiment is conducted to simulate internal tides considering the background circulation and stratification. To investigate the influence of a background field on the generation and propagation of internal tides, idealized cases with horizontally homogeneous stratification and zero surface fluxes are also implemented for comparison. By comparing the realistic cases with idealized ones, the astronomical tidal forcing is found to be the dominant factor influencing the internal tide conversion rate magnitude, whereas the stratification acts as a secondary factor. However, stratification deviations in different areas can lead to an error exceeding 30% in the local internal tide energy conversion rate, indicating the necessity of a realistic stratification setting for simulating the entire NWP. The background shear is found to refract propagating diurnal internal tides by changing the effective Coriolis frequencies and phase speeds, while the Doppler-shifting effect is remarkable for introducing biases to semidiurnal results. In addition, nonlinear baroclinic tide energy equations considering the background circulation and stratification are derived and diagnosed in this work. The mean flow–baroclinic tide interaction and nonlinear energy flux are the most significant nonlinear terms in the derived equations, and nonlinearity is estimated to contribute approximately 5% of the total internal tide energy in the greater Luzon Strait area.

Detection of large-scale ocean circulation and tides

1983 ◽  
Vol 309 (1508) ◽  
pp. 361-370 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Satellite Altimetry ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Precise Measurement ◽  
Ocean Surface ◽  
Ocean Topography ◽  
Tidal Signal ◽  
Nearly Continuous

As emphasized recently by Munk & Wunsch, the traditional methods of monitoring the ocean circulation give data too hopelessly aliased in space and time to permit a proper assessment of basin-wide dynamics and heat flux on climatic timescales. The prospect of nearly continuous recording of ocean-surface topography by satellite altimetry with suitable supporting measurements might make such assessments possible. The associated identification of the geocentric oceanic tidal signal in the data would be an additional bonus. The few weeks of altimetry recorded by Seasat gave a glimpse of the possibilities, but also clarified the areas where better precision and knowledge are needed. Further experience will be gained from currently projected multi-purpose satellites carrying altimeters, but serious knowledge of ocean circulation will result only from missions that are entirely dedicated to the precise measurement of ocean topography.

scholarly journals Internal Tide Convergence and Mixing in a Submarine Canyon

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy F. Waterhouse ◽  
Jennifer A. Mackinnon ◽  
Ruth C. Musgrave ◽  
Samuel M. Kelly ◽  
Andy Pickering ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Internal Wave ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Internal Tide ◽  
Submarine Canyon ◽  
Internal Tides ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Semidiurnal Tide ◽  
The North ◽  
Tidally Driven

AbstractObservations from Eel Canyon, located on the north coast of California, show that elevated turbulence in the full water column arises from the convergence of remotely generated internal wave energy. The incoming semidiurnal and bottom-trapped diurnal internal tides generate complex interference patterns. The semidiurnal internal tide sets up a partly standing wave within the canyon due to reflection at the canyon head, dissipating all of its energy within the canyon. Dissipation in the near bottom is associated with the diurnal trapped tide, while midwater isopycnal shear and strain is associated with the semidiurnal tide. Dissipation is elevated up to 600 m off the bottom, in contrast to observations over the flat continental shelf where dissipation occurs closer to the topography. Slope canyons are sinks for internal wave energy and may have important influences on the global distribution of tidally driven mixing.

The Depth-Dependent Current and Wave Interaction Equations: A Revision

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 2587-2596 ◽  
Author(s):  
George L. Mellor
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Energy Equation ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Wave Interaction ◽  
Stokes Drift ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Surface Wind Stress ◽  
The Mean

Abstract This is a revision of a previous paper dealing with three-dimensional wave-current interactions. It is shown that the continuity and momentum equations in the absence of surface waves can include waves after the addition of three-dimensional radiation stress terms, a fairly simple alteration for numerical ocean circulation models. The velocity that varies on time and space scales, which are large compared to inverse wave frequency and wavenumber, is denoted by ûα and, by convention, is called the “current.” The Stokes drift is labeled uSα and the mean velocity is Uα ≡ ûα + uSα. When vertically integrated, the results here are in agreement with past literature. Surface wind stress is empirical, but transfer of the stress into the water column is a function derived in this paper. The wave energy equation is derived, and terms such as the advective wave velocity are weighted vertical integrals of the mean velocity. The wave action equation is not an appropriate substitute for the wave energy equation when the mean velocity is depth dependent.

Wave Energy Assessments in the Coastal Environment of Portugal Continental

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugen Rusu ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Wave Energy ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Wave Climate ◽  
Coastal Environment ◽  
Wave Power ◽  
Relevant Parameter ◽  
Density Spectrum ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Power Resources

The potential for wave energy extraction can be obtained from the analysis of the wave climate which can be determined with numerical models. The wave energy devices can be deployed in offshore, nearshore and shoreline. From this reason, it is important to be able to assess properly the spatial distribution of the wave energy in various locations from the offshore to the coastline in a specific area. The methodology proposed here considers a SWAN based wave model system focusing in the Portuguese continental coastal environment from deep water towards the nearshore. An analysis of the average and high energetic conditions was first performed for a ten-year period, between 1994 and 2003, considering the most relevant in situ measurements available in the Portuguese nearshore. In this way both the average and high energetic conditions corresponding to the Portuguese continental costal environment have been properly defined. For the most relevant average wave conditions, SWAN simulations were performed in some medium resolution areas covering the northern and central parts of Portugal continental, which are traditionally considered richer in wave power resources. The present work allows the identification of some locations in the continental coastal environment of Portugal with greater potential from the point of view of wave power resources. An important observation is related to the fact that the wave power depends on the product between the energy density spectrum and the group velocity of waves. This means that, although the significant wave height is a relevant parameter when assessing the wave power in a specific site, a location having in general higher wave heights is not necessarily also the richest in wave power.

scholarly journals A multi-year timeseries of observation-based 3D horizontal and vertical quasi-geostrophic global ocean currents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Ocean Currents ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Diagnostic Model ◽  
Geostrophic Balance ◽  
Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche ◽  
Marine Environment Monitoring

Abstract. Estimates of 3D ocean circulation are needed to improve our understanding of ocean dynamics and to assess its impact on marine ecosystems and Earth climate. Here we present the OMEGA3D product, an observation-based timeseries of (quasi) global 3D ocean currents covering the 1993–2018 period, developed by the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche within the European Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS). This dataset was obtained by applying a diabatic quasi-geostrophic (QG) diagnostic model to CMEMS data-driven ARMOR3D weekly reconstruction of temperature and salinity and ERA-Interim fluxes. Outside the equatorial band, vertical velocities were retrieved in the upper 1500 m, at nominal ¼° resolution, and successively used to compute the horizontal ageostrophic components. Root mean square differences between OMEGA3D total horizontal velocities and totally independent drifter observations at two different depths (15 m and 1000 m) decrease with respect to corresponding estimates obtained from zero-order geostrophic balance, meaning that estimated vertical velocities can also be deemed reliable. OMEGA3D horizontal velocities are also closer to drifter observations than velocities provided by a set of re-analyses spanning a comparable time period, but based on data assimilation in ocean general circulation numerical models. The full OMEGA3D product (released on 31st of March 2020) is available upon free registration at https://doi.org/10.25423/cmcc/multiobs_glo_phy_w_rep_015_007. The reduced subset used here for validation and review purposes is openly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3696885 (Buongiorno Nardelli, 2020).

scholarly journals A Global Model for the Diapycnal Diffusivity Induced by Internal Gravity Waves

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1759-1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Olbers ◽  
Carsten Eden
Keyword(s):  
Energy Density ◽  
Internal Wave ◽  
Wave Field ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Internal Gravity Waves ◽  
Radiation Balance ◽  
Dissipation Rates ◽  
Diapycnal Diffusivity

Abstract An energetically consistent model for the diapycnal diffusivity induced by breaking of internal gravity waves is proposed and tested in local and global settings. The model [Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing (IDEMIX)] is based on the spectral radiation balance of the wave field, reduced by integration over the wavenumber space, which yields a set of balances for energy density variables in physical space. A further simplification results in a single partial differential equation for the total energy density of the wave field. The flux of energy to high vertical wavenumbers is parameterized by a functional derived from the wave–wave scattering integral of resonant wave triad interactions, which also forms the basis for estimates of dissipation rates and related diffusivities of ADCP and hydrography fine-structure data. In the current version of IDEMIX, the wave energy is forced by wind-driven near-inertial motions and baroclinic tides, radiating waves from the respective boundary layers at the surface and the bottom into the ocean interior. The model predicts plausible magnitudes and three-dimensional structures of internal wave energy, dissipation rates, and diapycnal diffusivities in rough agreement to observational estimates. IDEMIX is ready for use as a mixing module in ocean circulation models and can be extended with more spectral components.

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