Generation of internal waves by a supercritical stratified plume

The generation of internal waves by a propagating river plume is studied in the framework of a fully nonlinear nonhydrostatic numerical model. The vertical fluid stratification, parameters of tide, river discharge, and the bottom topography were taken close to those observed near the Columbia River mouth. It was found that in the beginning of the ebb tidal phase the river water intruding into the sea behaves as a surface jet stream. It collides with the stagnant shelf waters and sinks down in the area of the outer plume boundary, forming a head of the gravity current. In supercritical conditions which are normally realized at the first stage of the ebb tidal phase, internal waves are arrested in the head of the gravity current because their phase speed is smaller than the velocity of the plume. They are released and radiate from the plume when the speed of the decelerating front becomes smaller than the internal wave phase speed. This mechanism of the wave generation is sensitive to the stratification of the ambient shelf waters. It was found that dramatic decay of the buoyancy frequency profile from the surface to the bottom provides the most favorable conditions for the efficient disintegration of the head of the gravity current into a packet of internal waves and their fast separation from the plume. In the case when the fluid stratification on the shelf is close to monotonous, the disintegration of the head of the gravity current into a packet of solitary internal waves is not expected. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union

Model studies of dense water overflows in the Faroese Channels Topical Collection on the 5th International Workshop on Modelling the Ocean (IWMO) in Bergen, Norway 17-20 June 2013

The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas through the Faroese Channel system was investigated through combined laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Circulation Model. In the experimental study, a scaled, topographic representation of the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Wyville-Thomson Basin and Ridge and Faroe Bank Channel seabed bathymetry was constructed and mounted in a rotating tank. A series of parametric experiments was conducted using dye-tracing and drogue-tracking techniques to investigate deep-water overflow pathways and circulation patterns within the modelled region. In addition, the structure of the outflowing dense bottom water was investigated through density profiling along three cross-channel transects located in the Wyville-Thomson Basin and the converging, up-sloping approach to the Faroe Bank Channel. Results from the dye-tracing studies demonstrate a range of parametric conditions under which dense water overflow across the Wyville-Thomson Ridge is shown to occur, as defined by the Burger number, a non-dimensional length ratio and a dimensionless dense water volume flux parameter specified at the Faroe-Shetland Channel inlet boundary. Drogue-tracking measurements reveal the complex nature of flow paths and circulations generated in the modelled topography, particularly the development of a large anti-cyclonic gyre in the Wyville-Thompson Basin and up-sloping approach to the Faroe Bank Channel, which diverts the dense water outflow from the Faroese shelf towards the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, potentially promoting dense water spillage across the ridge itself. The presence of this circulation is also indicated by associated undulations in density isopycnals across the Wyville-Thomson Basin. Numerical simulations of parametric test cases for the main outflow pathways and density structure in a similarly-scaled Faroese Channels model domain indicate excellent qualitative agreement with the experimental observations and measurements. In addition, the comparisons show that strong temporal variability in the predicted outflow pathways and circulations have a strong influence in regulating the Faroe Bank Channel and Wyville-Thomson Ridge overflows, as well as in determining the overall response in the Faroese Channels to changes in the Faroe-Shetland Channel inlet boundary conditions. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Tidal Conversion and Mixing Poleward of the Critical Latitude (an Arctic Case Study)

©2017. American Geophysical Union. The tides are a major source of the kinetic energy supporting turbulent mixing in the global oceans. The prime mechanism for the transfer of tidal energy to turbulent mixing results from the interaction between topography and stratified tidal flow, leading to the generation of freely propagating internal waves at the period of the forcing tide. However, poleward of the critical latitude (where the period of the principal tidal constituent exceeds the local inertial period), the action of the Coriolis force precludes the development of freely propagating linear internal tides. Here we focus on a region of sloping topography, poleward of the critical latitude, where there is significant conversion of tidal energy and the flow is supercritical (Froude number, Fr > 1). A high-resolution nonlinear modeling study demonstrates the key role of tidally generated lee waves and supercritical flow in the transfer of energy from the barotropic tide to internal waves in these high-latitude regions. Time series of flow and water column structure from the region of interest show internal waves with characteristics consistent with those predicted by the model, and concurrent microstructure dissipation measurements show significant levels of mixing associated with these internal waves. The results suggest that tidally generated lee waves are a key mechanism for the transfer of energy from the tide to turbulence poleward of the critical latitude

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Tidal energy conversion in a global hot spot: On the 3-D dynamics of baroclinic tides at the Celtic Sea shelf break

Globally, the Celtic Sea shelf break is ranked highest as an energetic “hot spot” of tidal energy conversion, therefore making it the most significant contributor to global internal tidal energy flux. In this paper, the three-dimensional dynamics of baroclinic tides in the shelf-slope area of the Celtic Sea was investigated numerically and using observational data collected on the 376th cruise of the RV “RRS Discovery” in June 2012. The time series recorded at a shelf break mooring showed that semidiurnal internal waves were accompanied by packets of internal solitary waves with maximum amplitudes up to 105 m, the largest internal waves ever recorded in the Celtic Sea, and ranking among the largest observed in the global ocean. The observed baroclinic wavefields were replicated numerically using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model. A fine-resolution grid with 115 m horizontal and 10 m vertical steps allowed the identification of two classes of short-scale internal waves. The first classification was generated over headlands and resembles spiral-type internal waves that are typical for isolated underwater banks. The second classification, generated within an area of several canyons, revealed properties of quasi-planar internal wave packets. The observed in situ intensification of tidal bottom currents at the shelf break mooring is explained in terms of a tidal beam that was formed over supercritical bottom topography at the mooring location