Showing papers on "Internal wave published in 2019"

Illuminating seafloor faults and ocean dynamics with dark fiber distributed acoustic sensing

Abstract: Distributed fiber-optic sensing technology coupled to existing subsea cables (dark fiber) allows observation of ocean and solid earth phenomena. We used an optical fiber from the cable supporting the Monterey Accelerated Research System during a 4-day maintenance period with a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) instrument operating onshore, creating a ~10,000-component, 20-kilometer-long seismic array. Recordings of a minor earthquake wavefield identified multiple submarine fault zones. Ambient noise was dominated by shoaling ocean surface waves but also contained observations of in situ secondary microseism generation, post-low-tide bores, storm-induced sediment transport, infragravity waves, and breaking internal waves. DAS amplitudes in the microseism band tracked sea-state dynamics during a storm cycle in the northern Pacific. These observations highlight this method's potential for marine geophysics.

Deep-ocean mixing driven by small-scale internal tides

Abstract: Turbulent mixing in the ocean is key to regulate the transport of heat, freshwater and biogeochemical tracers, with strong implications for Earth’s climate. In the deep ocean, tides supply much of the mechanical energy required to sustain mixing via the generation of internal waves, known as internal tides, whose fate—the relative importance of their local versus remote breaking into turbulence—remains uncertain. Here, we combine a semi-analytical model of internal tide generation with satellite and in situ measurements to show that from an energetic viewpoint, small-scale internal tides, hitherto overlooked, account for the bulk (>50%) of global internal tide generation, breaking and mixing. Furthermore, we unveil the pronounced geographical variations of their energy proportion, ignored by current parameterisations of mixing in climate-scale models. Based on these results, we propose a physically consistent, observationally supported approach to accurately represent the dissipation of small-scale internal tides and their induced mixing in climate-scale models. The geography of deep-ocean mixing driven by internal tides is poorly constrained in ocean models. Here the authors unveil the global variability of energetic small-scale internal tides, combining an analytical model with satellite and in situ observations, paving the way to future parameterisations.

Sediment Resuspension and Transport by Internal Solitary Waves

Abstract: Large-amplitude internal waves induce currents and turbulence in the bottom boundary layer (BBL) and are thus a key driver of sediment movement on the continental margins. Observations of internal ...

Low-frequency Variability in Massive Stars: Core Generation or Surface Phenomenon?

Abstract: Bowman et al. (2019) reported low-frequency photometric variability in 164 O- and B-type stars observed with K2 and TESS. They interpret these motions as internal gravity waves, which could be excited stochastically by convection in the cores of these stars. The detection of internal gravity waves in massive stars would help distinguish between massive stars with convective or radiative cores, determine core size, and would provide important constraints on massive star structure and evolution. In this work, we study the observational signature of internal gravity waves generated by core convection. We calculate the \textit{wave transfer function}, which links the internal gravity wave amplitude at the base of the radiative zone to the surface luminosity variation. This transfer function varies by many orders of magnitude for frequencies $\lesssim 1 \, {\rm d}^{-1}$, and has regularly-spaced peaks near $1 \, {\rm d}^{-1}$ due to standing modes. This is inconsistent with the observed spectra which have smooth ``red noise'' profiles, without the predicted regularly-spaced peaks. The wave transfer function is only meaningful if the waves stay predominately linear. We next show that this is the case: low frequency traveling waves do not break unless their luminosity exceeds the radiative luminosity of the star; and, the observed luminosity fluctuations at high frequencies are so small that standing modes would be stable to nonlinear instability. These simple calculations suggest that the observed low-frequency photometric variability in massive stars is not due to internal gravity waves generated in the core of these stars. We finish with a discussion of (sub)surface convection, which produces low-frequency variability in low-mass stars, very similar to that observed in Bowman et al. (2019) in higher mass stars.

Energy Sinks for Lee Waves in Shear Flow

Abstract: Microstructure measurements in Drake Passage and on the flanks of Kerguelen Plateau find turbulent dissipation rates e on average factors of 2–3 smaller than linear lee-wave generation pred...

Sensitivity and feedback of wind-farm-induced gravity waves

Abstract: Flow blockage by large wind farms leads to an upward displacement of the boundary layer, which may excite atmospheric gravity waves in the free atmosphere aloft and on the interface between the boundary layer and the free atmosphere. In the current study, we assess the sensitivity of wind-farm gravity-wave excitation to important dimensionless groups and investigate the feedback of gravity-wave induced pressure fields on wind-farm energy extraction. The sensitivity analysis is performed using a fast boundary-layer model that is developed to this end. It is based on a three-layer representation of the atmosphere in an idealised barotropic environment, and is coupled with an analytical wake model to account for turbine wake interactions. We first validate the model in 2D-mode with data from previous large-eddy simulations of "infinitely" wide wind farms, and then use the model to investigate the sensitivity of wind-farm induced gravity waves to atmospheric state and wind-farm configuration. We find that the inversion layer induces flow physics similar to shallow-water flow and that the corresponding Froude number plays a crucial role. Gravity-wave excitation is maximal at a critical Froude number equal to one, but the feedback on energy extraction is highest when the Froude number is slightly below one due to a trade-off between amplitude and upstream impact of gravity waves. The effect of surface friction and internal gravity waves is to reduce the flow perturbation and the related power loss by dissipating or dispersing perturbation energy. With respect to the wind-farm configuration, we find that gravity-wave induced power loss increases with wind-farm size and turbine height. Moreover, we find that gravity-wave effects are small for very wide or very long wind farms and attain a maximum at a width-to-depth ratio of around 3/2.

Downstream Propagation and Remote Dissipation of Internal Waves in the Southern Ocean

Abstract: Recent microstructure observations in the Southern Ocean report enhanced internal gravity waves and turbulence in the frontal regions of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current extending a kilometer above rough bottom topography. Idealized numerical simulations and linear theory show that geostrophic flows impinging on rough small-scale topography are very effective generators of internal waves and estimate vigorous wave radiation, breaking, and turbulence within a kilometer above bottom. However, both idealized simulations and linear theory assume periodic and spatially uniform topography and tend to overestimate the observed levels of turbulent energy dissipation locally at the generation sites. In this study, we explore the downstream evolution and remote dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic flows using a series of numerical, realistic topography simulations and parameters typical of Drake Passage. The results show that significant levels of internal wave kinetic energy and energy dissipation are present downstream of the rough topography, internal wave generation site. About 30%–40% of the energy dissipation occurs locally over the rough topography region, where internal waves are generated. The rest of the energy dissipation takes place remotely and decays downstream of the generation site with an e-folding length scale of up to 20–30 km. The model we use is two-dimensional with enhanced viscosity coefficients, and hence it can result in the underestimation of the remote wave dissipation and its decay length scale. The implications of our results for turbulent energy dissipation observations and mixing parameterizations are discussed.

Observations of Large-Amplitude Mode-2 Nonlinear Internal Waves on the Australian North West Shelf

Abstract: Large-amplitude mode-2 nonlinear internal waves were observed in 250-m-deep water on the Australian North West shelf. Wave amplitudes were derived from temperature measurements using three ...

Internal and Inertial Wave Attractors: A Review

Abstract: This paper presents a review of theoretical, experimental, and numerical studies of geometric attractors of internal and/or inertial waves in a stratified and/or rotating fluid. The dispersion relation for such waves defines the relationship between the frequency and direction of their propagation, but does not contain a length scale. A consequence of the dispersion relation is energy focusing due to wave reflection from sloping walls. In a limited volume of fluid, focusing leads to the concentration of wave energy near closed geometrical configurations called wave attractors. The evolution of the concept of wave attractors from ray-theory predictions to observations of wave turbulence in physical and numerical experiments is described.

A study of the spatial-temporal distribution and propagation characteristics of internal waves in the Andaman Sea using MODIS

Abstract: This paper describes investigations of the internal waves in the Andaman Sea using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery over the period of June 2010 to May 2016. Results of the spatial and temporal distribution, generation sources and propagation characteristics of internal waves are presented. The statistical analysis shows that internal waves can be observed in almost the entire area of the Andaman Sea. Most internal waves are observed in the northern, central and southern regions of the Andaman Sea. A significant number of internal waves between 7°N and 9°N in the East Indian Ocean are also observed. Internal waves can be observed year-round in the Andaman Sea, while most of internal waves are observed between February and April, with a maximum frequency of 15.03% in March. The seasonal distribution of the internal waves shows that the internal waves have mostly been observed in the dry season (February to April), and fewer internal waves are observed in the rainy season (May to October). The double peak distribution for the occurrence frequency of internal waves is found. With respect to the lunar influence, more internal waves are observed after the spring tide, which implies the spring tide may play an important role in internal wave generation in the Andaman Sea. Generation sources of internal waves are explored based on the propagation characteristics of internal waves. The results indicate that six sources are located between the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, and one is located in the northern Andaman Sea. Four regions with active internal wave phenomenon in the Andaman Sea were presented during the MODIS survey, and the propagation speed of internal waves calculated based on the semidiurnal generation period is smaller than the results acquired from pairs of the images with short time intervals.

Comparison of results from two 3D hydrodynamic models with field data : internal seiches and horizontal currents

Abstract: Model skills of two 3D hydrodynamic models, ELCOM and Delft3D, were assessed by simulating internal seiches and surface currents and comparing the results with field data in Upper Lake Cons...

Scale Transition From Geostrophic Motions to Internal Waves in the Northern South China Sea

Abstract: The eddy‐abundant circulation in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) tends to be dynamically complex due to monsoon forcing, Kuroshio intrusion, and emitted internal waves from the Luzon Strait. This study uses 13‐year shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements (2004– 2016), orbital altimeter data, and high‐resolution model output to perform wave‐vortex decompositions and investigate the scale of transition from dominantly geostrophic flows to internal wave motions in the northern South China Sea. The upper ocean kinetic energy spectra transition on scales exceeds 200 km. This large scale of transition is attributed to the energetic low‐mode internal waves (e.g., internal tides and inertia‐gravity waves). However, inconsistencies in the decomposition reveal that the assumptions of homogeneity and isotropy required for the 1‐D decomposition (Bühler et al., 2014) are sufficiently violated at smaller scales to affect the subdominant member of the decomposition on scales below 100 km. A method for direct quantification of the consequences by degree of violation using bootstrapping of the 2‐D model data is developed and illustrated. Observed and modeled sea surface height spectra flatten at scales smaller than 125 km, which is found in the model to be due to the coherent, semidiurnal internal waves. The large scale of transition between geostrophic and wave motions in the South China Sea is an irreducible uncertainty for altimeter velocities (e.g., the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission). Plain Language Summary The scale transition from balanced geostrophic flows to unbalanced motions is of great importance for understanding the circulation system of the South China Sea where both eddies and internal waves are particularly active. Based on observations and high‐resolution simulation, this paper investigates the wave number spectra of kinetic energy and sea surface height variance in the northern South China Sea. The large transition length scale (>200 km) from balanced geostrophic flows to unbalanced motions is due to strong low‐mode internal waves in the upper ocean. The violations of the assumptions for the 1‐D decomposition (stationarity, homogeneity, and horizontal isotropy) are also assessed using the 2‐D model data. With the model output, the low‐mode semidiurnal internal tides are found to have significant impacts on the sea surface height variance at scales of ~125 km. These results are directly relevant to the efficiency of diagnosing geostrophic flows from altimeters (e.g., the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission).

Decomposition of the multimodal multidirectional M2 internal tide field

Abstract: The M2 internal tide field contains waves of various baroclinic modes and various horizontal propagation directions. This paper presents a technique for decomposing the sea surface height (...

Diffusion of inertia-gravity waves by geostrophic turbulence

Abstract: The scattering of inertia-gravity waves by large-scale geostrophic turbulence in a rapidly rotating, strongly stratified fluid leads to the diffusion of wave energy on the constant-frequency cone in wavenumber space. We derive the corresponding diffusion equation and relate its diffusivity to the wave characteristics and the energy spectrum of the turbulent flow. We check the predictions of this equation against numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Boussinesq equations in initial-value and forced scenarios with horizontally isotropic wave and flow fields. In the forced case, wavenumber diffusion results in a wave energy spectrum consistent with as-yet-unexplained features of observed atmospheric and oceanic spectra.

Biologically Generated Mixing in the Ocean.

Abstract: This article assesses the contribution to ocean mixing by the marine biosphere at both high and low Reynolds numbers Re= ul/ ν. While back-of-the-envelope estimates have suggested that swimming marine organisms might generate as much high-Reynolds-number turbulence as deep-ocean tide- and wind-generated internal waves, and that turbulent dissipation rates of O(10-5 W kg-1) (Re ∼ 105) could be produced by aggregations of organisms ranging from O(0.01 m) krill to O(10 m) cetaceans, comparable to strong wind and buoyancy forcing near the surface, microstructure measurements do not find consistently elevated dissipation associated with diel vertically migrating krill. Elevated dissipation rates are associated with schools of O(0.1- 1 m) fish but with low mixing coefficients ( γ ∼ 0.002-0.02, as compared with γ ∼ 0.2 for geophysical turbulence). Likewise, viscously induced drift at low Reynolds numbers produces little mixing of temperature, solutes, dissolved nutrients, and gases when realistic swimmers and molecular scalar diffusion are taken into account. The conclusion is that, while the marine biosphere can generate turbulence, it contributes little ocean mixing compared with breaking internal gravity waves.

The role of the free surface on interfacial solitary waves

Abstract: We investigated theoretically and experimentally internal solitary waves (ISWs) in a two-layer fluid system with a top free surface. Laboratory experiments are performed by lock-release, under Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq conditions. Experimental results are compared with those obtained by the analytical solution of the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) weakly nonlinear equation and by the strongly nonlinear Miyata-Choi-Camassa (MCC) model. We analyze the initial conditions which allow to find soliton solutions for both rigid-lid (-RL) and free-surface (-FS) boundary conditions. For the MCC-FS model, we employ a new mathematical procedure to derive the ISW-induced free surface displacement. The density structure strongly affects the elevation of the free surface predicted by the MCC-FS model. The free surface maximum displacement increases mostly with the density difference, assuming non-negligible values also for smaller interfacial amplitudes. Larger displacements occur for thinner upper layer thickness. The MCC-FS model gives the best prediction in terms of both internal waves geometric/kinematic features and surface displacements. The existence of a free surface allows the ISW to transfer part of its energy to the free surface: the wave celerity assumes lower values with respect to ISW speed resulting from the MCC-RL model. For ISWs with a very large amplitude, this behavior tends to fade, and the MCC-RL and the MCC-FS model predict approximately the same celerity and interfacial geometric features. For small-amplitude waves also, the predictions of the KdV-RL equation are consistent with experimental results. Thus, ISWs with an intermediate amplitude should be modeled taking into account a free top surface as the boundary condition.

On the Momentum Flux of Internal Tides

Abstract: The action of the barotropic tide over seafloor topography is the major source of internal waves at the bottom of the ocean. This internal tide has long been recognized to play an important...

Numerical Evaluation of Energy Transfers in Internal Gravity Wave Spectra of the Ocean

Abstract: Spectral energy transfers by internal gravity wave–wave interactions for given empirical energy spectra are evaluated numerically from the kinetic equation that is derived from the assumpti...

Coastal Semidiurnal Internal Tidal Incoherence in the Santa Maria Basin, California: Observations and Model Simulations

Abstract: A series of five realistic, nested, hydrostatic numerical ocean model simulations are used to study semidiurnal internal tide generation and propagation from the continental slope, through the shelf break and to the midshelf adjacent to Point Sal, CA. The statistics of modeled temperature and horizontal velocity fluctuations are compared to midshelf observations (30to 50-m water depth). Timeand frequency-domain methods are used to decompose internal tides into components that are coherent and incoherent with the barotropic tide, and the incoherence fraction is 0.5–0.7 at the midshelf locations in both the realistic model and observations. In contrast, the incoherence fraction is at the most 0.45 for a simulation with idealized stratification, and neither atmospheric forcing nor mesoscale currents. Negligible conversion from barotropic to baroclinic energy occurs at the local shelf break. Instead, the dominant internal tide energy sources are regions of small-scale near-critical to supercritical bathymetry on the Santa Lucia escarpment (1,000–3,000 m), 70–80 km from the continental shelf. Near the generation region, semidiurnal baroclinic energy is primarily coherent and rapidly decays adjacent to the shelf break. In the realistically forced model, incoherent energy is less than 10% in the generation region, with a steady increase in incoherence fraction from the continental slope to the midshelf. Backward ray tracing from the midshelf to the Santa Lucia escarpment identifies multiple energy pathways potentially leading to spatial interference. As internal tides shoal on the predominantly subcritical slope/shelf system, temporally variable stratification and Doppler shifting from mesoscale and submesoscale features appear equally important in leading to the loss of coherence.

Initiation of diffusive layering by time-dependent shear

Abstract: The Arctic halocline is generally stable to the development of double-diffusive and dynamic instabilities – the two major sources of small-scale mixing in the mid-latitude oceans. Despite this, observations show the abundance of double-diffusive staircases in the Arctic Ocean, which suggests the presence of some destabilizing process facilitating the transition from smooth-gradient to layered stratification. Recent studies have shown that an instability can develop in such circumstances if weak static shear is present even when the flow is dynamically and diffusively stable. However, the impact of oscillating shear, associated with the presence of internal gravity waves, has not yet been addressed for the diffusive case. Through two-dimensional simulations of diffusive convection, we have investigated the impact of the magnitude and frequency of externally forced oscillatory shear on the thermohaline-shear instability. Simulations with stochastic shear – characterized by a continuous spectrum of frequencies from inertial to buoyancy – indicate that thermohaline layering does occur due to the presence of destabilizing modes (oscillations of near the buoyancy frequency). These simulations show that such layers appear as well-defined steps in the temperature and salinity profiles. Thus, the thermohaline-shear instability is a plausible mechanism for staircase formation in the Arctic and merits substantial future study.

Rain and Sun Create Slippery Layers in Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool.

Abstract: An autonomous Lagrangian float equipped with a high-resolution acoustic Doppler current profiler observed the evolution of upper-ocean stratification and velocity in the Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool for over 100 days in August-November 2016. Although convective mixing homogenized the water column to 40 m depth almost every night, the combination of diurnal warming on clear days and rainfall on cloudy days routinely produced strong stratification in the upper 10 m. Whether due to thermal or freshwater effects, the initial strong stratification was mixed downward and incorporated in the bulk of the mixed layer within a few hours. Stratification cycling was associated with pronounced variability of ocean surface boundary layer turbulence and vertical shear of wind-driven (Ekman) currents. Decoupled from the bulk of the mixed layer by strong stratification, warm and fresh near-surface waters were rapidly accelerated by wind, producing the well-known "slippery layer" effect, and leading to a strong downwind near-surface distortion of the Ekman profile. A case study illustrates the ability of the new generation of Lagrangian floats to measure rapidly evolving temperature, salinity, and velocity, including turbulent and internal wave components. Quantitative interpretation of the results remains a challenge, which can be addressed with high-resolution numerical modeling, given sufficiently accurate air-sea fluxes.

Stratified flow past a prolate spheroid

Abstract: Simulation of density-stratified flow past an elongated body reveals substantial differences with respect to a sphere in flow separation, the near wake and internal waves. As stratification increases (Fr decreases), the fluid experiences vertical/sideways deflection and the separated region changes.

Oblique reflection of large internal solitary waves in a two-layer fluid

Abstract: The oblique reflection of an incident internal solitary wave is investigated using a fully-nonlinear and strongly-dispersive internal wave model. The 3rd order theoretical solution for an internal solitary wave in a two-layer system is used for the incident solitary wave. Two different incident wave amplitude cases are investigated, in which nine and eleven different incident angles are used for the small and large incident amplitude cases respectively. Under both amplitudes, at least for the cases investigated here, relatively smaller incident angles result in Mach reflection while relatively larger incident angles result in regular reflection. Under Mach-like reflection generation of a ‘stem’ is observed for a certain range of incident angles, in addition to the reflected wave. The stem is found to have, in a certain sense, the characteristics of an internal solitary wave, though the maximum stem wave amplitude is less than four times as large as the original incident internal solitary wave. The stem length is confirmed to increase faster for the larger incident wave amplitude. The maximum amplification factor for the small incident wave is the same as in previous studies. However, the maximum amplification factor for the large incident wave is less than that for the small wave. The results of these calculations are compared with those of the corresponding KP theory and it is found that a lower amplification factor may be a significant characteristic of internal solitary waves.