1 research outputs found
Toward Regional Characterizations of the Oceanic Internal Wavefield
Many major oceanographic internal wave observational programs of the last 4
decades are reanalyzed in order to characterize variability of the deep ocean
internal wavefield. The observations are discussed in the context of the
universal spectral model proposed by Garrett and Munk. The Garrett and Munk
model is a good description of wintertime conditions at Site-D on the
continental rise north of the Gulf Stream. Elsewhere and at other times,
significant deviations in terms of amplitude, separability of the 2-D vertical
wavenumber - frequency spectrum, and departure from the model's functional form
are noted. Subtle geographic patterns are apparent in deviations from the high
frequency and high vertical wavenumber power laws of the Garrett and Munk
spectrum. Moreover, such deviations tend to co-vary: whiter frequency spectra
are partnered with redder vertical wavenumber spectra. Attempts are made to
interpret the variability in terms of the interplay between generation,
propagation and nonlinearity using a statistical radiative balance equation.
This process frames major questions for future research with the insight that
such integrative studies could constrain both observationally and theoretically
based interpretations