Radiation and dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic motions impinging on small-scale topography

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2009Observations and inverse models suggest that small-scale turbulent mixing is enhanced in the Southern Ocean in regions above rough topography. The enhancement extends 1 km above the topography suggesting that mixing is supported by breaking of gravity waves radiated from the ocean bottom. In other regions, gravity wave radiation by bottom topography has been primarily associated with the barotropic tide. In this study, we explore the alternative hypothesis that the enhanced mixing in the Southern Ocean is sustained by internal waves generated by geostrophic motions flowing over bottom topography. Weakly-nonlinear theory is used to describe the internal wave generation and the feedback of the waves on the zonally averaged flow. A major finding is that the waves generated at the ocean bottom at finite inverse Froude numbers drive vigorous inertial oscillations. The wave radiation and dissipation at equilibrium is therefore the result of both geostrophic flow and inertial oscillations and differs substantially from the classical lee wave problem. The theoretical predictions are tested versus two-dimensional and three-dimensional high resolution numerical simulations with parameters representative of the Drake Passage region. Theory and fully nonlinear numerical simulations are used to estimate internal wave radiation from LADCP, CTD and topography data from two regions in the Southern Ocean: Drake Passage and the Southeast Pacific. The results show that radiation and dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic motions reproduce the magnitude and distribution of dissipation measured in the region

Abyssal hill roughness impact on internal tide generation: linear theory

Internal tide driven mixing plays a key role in sustaining the deep ocean stratification and meridional overturning circulation. Internal tides can be generated by topographic horizontal scales ranging from hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers. State of the art topographic products hardly resolve scales smaller than ~10 km in the deep ocean, over which abyssal hills are the dominant ocean floor roughness fabric. An evaluation of the impact of abyssal hill roughness on internal-tide generation is presented in this study

Forcing of the overturning circulation across a circumpolar channel by internal wave breaking

The hypothesis that the impingement of mesoscale eddy flows on small-scale topography regulates diapycnal mixing and meridional overturning across the deep Southern Ocean is assessed in an idealized model. The model simulates an eddying circumpolar current coupled to a double-celled meridional overturning with properties broadly resembling those of the Southern Ocean circulation and represents lee wave-induced diapycnal mixing using an online formulation grounded on wave radiation theory. The diapycnal mixing generated by the simulated eddy field is found to play a major role in sustaining the lower overturning cell in the model, and to underpin a significant sensitivity of this cell to wind forcing. The vertical structure of lower overturning is set by mesoscale eddies, which propagate the effects of near-bottom diapycnal mixing by displacing isopycnals vertically

Energy Loss from Transient Eddies due to Lee Wave Generation in the Southern Ocean

Observations suggest that enhanced turbulent dissipation and mixing over rough topography are modulated by the transient eddy field through the generation and breaking of lee waves in the Southern Ocean. Idealized simulations also suggest that lee waves are important in the energy pathway from eddies to turbulence. However, the energy loss from eddies due to lee wave generation remains poorly estimated. This study quantifies the relative energy loss from the time-mean and transient eddy flow in the Southern Ocean due to lee wave generation using an eddy-resolving global ocean model and three independent topographic datasets. The authors find that the energy loss from the transient eddy flow (0.12 TW; 1 TW = 1012 W) is larger than that from the time-mean flow (0.04 TW) due to lee wave generation; lee wave generation makes a larger contribution (0.12 TW) to the energy loss from the transient eddy flow than the dissipation in turbulent bottom boundary layer (0.05 TW). This study also shows that the energy loss from the time-mean flow is regulated by the transient eddy flow, and energy loss from the transient eddy flow is sensitive to the representation of anisotropy in small-scale topography. It is implied that lee waves should be parameterized in eddy-resolving global ocean models to improve the energetics of resolved flow.This research was undertaken on the NCI National Facility in Canberra, Australia, which is supported by the Australian Government. LY was supported by the joint CSIRO–UTAS QMS program. MN was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellowship (DE150100937)

Southern Ocean buoyancy forcing of ocean ventilation and glacial atmospheric CO2

PublishedAtmospheric CO2 concentrations over glacial-interglacial cycles closely correspond to Antarctic temperature patterns. These are distinct from temperature variations in the mid to northern latitudes, so this suggests that the Southern Ocean is pivotal in controlling natural CO2 concentrations. Here we assess the sensitivity of atmospheric CO2 concentrations to glacial-interglacial changes in the ocean's meridional overturning circulation using a circulation model for upwelling and eddy transport in the Southern Ocean coupled with a simple biogeochemical description. Under glacial conditions, a broader region of surface buoyancy loss results in upwelling farther to the north, relative to interglacials. The northern location of upwelling results in reduced CO2 outgassing and stronger carbon sequestration in the deep ocean: we calculate that the shift to this glacial-style circulation can draw down 30 to 60ppm of atmospheric CO2. We therefore suggest that the direct effect of temperatures on Southern Ocean buoyancy forcing, and hence the residual overturning circulation, explains much of the strong correlation between Antarctic temperature variations and atmospheric CO2 concentrations over glacial-interglacial cycles

The Impact of Finite-Amplitude Bottom Topography on Internal Wave Generation in the Southern Ocean

Direct observations in the Southern Ocean report enhanced internal wave activity and turbulence in a kilometer-thick layer above rough bottom topography collocated with the deep-reaching fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Linear theory, corrected for finite-amplitude topography based on idealized, two-dimensional numerical simulations, has been recently used to estimate the global distribution of internal wave generation by oceanic currents and eddies. The global estimate shows that the topographic wave generation is a significant sink of energy for geostrophic flows and a source of energy for turbulent mixing in the deep ocean. However, comparison with recent observations from the Diapycnal and Isopycnal Mixing Experiment in the Southern Ocean shows that the linear theory predictions and idealized two-dimensional simulations grossly overestimate the observed levels of turbulent energy dissipation. This study presents two- and three-dimensional, realistic topography simulations of internal lee-wave generation from a steady flow interacting with topography with parameters typical of Drake Passage. The results demonstrate that internal wave generation at three-dimensional, finite bottom topography is reduced compared to the two-dimensional case. The reduction is primarily associated with finite-amplitude bottom topography effects that suppress vertical motions and thus reduce the amplitude of the internal waves radiated from topography. The implication of these results for the global lee-wave generation is discussed.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMG-1024198

Radiation and dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic motions impinging on small-scale topography

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-168).Observations and inverse models suggest that small-scale turbulent mixing is enhanced in the Southern Ocean in regions above rough topography. The enhancement extends 1 km above the topography suggesting that mixing is supported by breaking of gravity waves radiated from the ocean bottom. In other regions, gravity wave radiation by bottom topography has been primarily associated with the barotropic tide. In this study, we explore the alternative hypothesis that the enhanced mixing in the Southern Ocean is sustained by internal waves generated by geostrophic motions flowing over bottom topography. Weakly-nonlinear theory is used to describe the internal wave generation and the feedback of the waves on the zonally averaged flow. A major finding is that the waves generated at the ocean bottom at finite inverse Froude numbers drive vigorous inertial oscillations. The wave radiation and dissipation at equilibrium is therefore the result of both geostrophic flow and inertial oscillations and differs substantially from the classical lee wave problem. The theoretical predictions are tested versus two-dimensional and three-dimensional high resolution numerical simulations with parameters representative of the Drake Passage region. Theory and fully nonlinear numerical simulations are used to estimate internal wave radiation from LADCP, CTD and topography data from two regions in the Southern Ocean: Drake Passage and the Southeast Pacific. The results show that radiation and dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic motions reproduce the magnitude and distribution of dissipation measured in the region.by Maxim Nikurashin.Ph.D