Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T14:15:00.686Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The impact of multiple layering on internal wave transmission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2016

S. J. Ghaemsaidi ,
H. V. Dosser ,
L. Rainville  and
T. Peacock
S. J. Ghaemsaidi*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
H. V. Dosser
Affiliation:
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
L. Rainville
Affiliation:
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
T. Peacock
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Given the ubiquity of layering in environmental stratifications, an interesting example being double-diffusive staircase structures in the Arctic Ocean, we present the results of a joint theoretical and laboratory experimental study investigating the impact of multiple layering on internal wave propagation. We first present results for a simplified model that demonstrates the non-trivial impact of multiple layering. Thereafter, utilizing a weakly viscous linear model that can handle arbitrary vertical stratifications, we perform a comparison of theory with experiments. We conclude by applying this model to a case study of a staircase stratification profile obtained from the Arctic Ocean, finding a rich landscape of transmission behaviour.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Geophysical and Geological Flows Geophysical and Geological Flows: Internal waves Geophysical and Geological Flows: Stratified flows
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 789 , 25 February 2016 , pp. 617 - 629
Check for updates
Copyright
© 2016 Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, M. J., Holton, J. R. & Durran, D. R. 1995 The gravity wave response above deep convection in a squall line simulation. J. Atmos. Sci. 52, 2212–2226.Google Scholar
Alexander, M. J., Richter, J. H. & Sutherland, B. R. 2006 Generation and trapping of gravity waves from convection with comparison to parameterization. J. Atmos. Sci. 63, 2963–2977.Google Scholar
Alford, M. H. 2001 Internal swell generation: the spatial distribution of energy flux from the wind to mixed layer near-inertial motions. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 31, 2359–2368.Google Scholar
Cole, S. T., Timmermans, M.-L., Toole, J. M., Krishfield, R. A. & Thwaites, F. T. 2014 Ekman veering, internal waves, and turbulence observed under Arctic sea ice. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 44 (5), 1306–1328.Google Scholar
Drazin, P. G. & Reid, W. H. 1981 Hydrodynamic Stability. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Echeverri, P.2009 Internal tide generation by tall ocean ridges. PhD thesis.Google Scholar
Ghaemsaidi, S. J.2015 Interference and resonance of internal gravity waves. PhD thesis.Google Scholar
Gregory, K. D. & Sutherland, B. R. 2010 Transmission and reflection of internal wave beams. Phys. Fluids 22 (10), 106601.Google Scholar
Levine, M. D., Paulson, C. A. & Morison, J. H. 1987 Observations of internal gravity waves under the Arctic pack ice. J. Geophys. Res. 92, 779–782.Google Scholar
Mathur, M. & Peacock, T. 2009 Internal wave beam propagation in non-uniform stratifications. J. Fluid Mech. 639, 133–152.Google Scholar
Mathur, M. & Peacock, T. 2010 Internal wave interferometry. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 118501.Google Scholar
Nault, J. T. & Sutherland, B. R. 2007 Internal wave transmission in nonuniform flows. Phys. Fluids 19, 016601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Padman, L. & Dillon, T. M. 1988 On the horizontal extent of the Canada Basin thermohaline steps. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 18, 1458–1462.Google Scholar
Rainville, L., Lee, C. M. & Woodgate, R. A. 2011 Impact of wind-driven mixing in the Arctic Ocean. Oceanography 24 (3), 136–145.Google Scholar
Rainville, L. & Winsor, P. 2008 Mixing across the Arctic Ocean: microstructure observations during the Beringia 2005 expedition. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35 (8), L08606.Google Scholar
Simmons, H. L. & Alford, M. H. 2012 Simulating the long-range swell of internal waves generated by ocean storms. Oceanography 25, 30–41.Google Scholar
Sutherland, B. 2010 Internal Gravity Waves. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sutherland, B. R. & Yewchuk, K. 2004 Internal wave tunnelling. J. Fluid Mech. 511, 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timmermans, M.-L., Toole, J., Krishfield, R. & Winsor, P. 2008 Ice-tethered profiler observations of the double-diffusive staircase in the Canada Basin thermocline. J. Geophys. Res. 113, C00A02.Google Scholar