Contribution of breaking internal waves to structure formation, energy dissipation, and vertical diffusion in the ocean

Abstract

The relationship between the scale of the spectral minimum of the first differences in temperature fluctuationsL and the local value of the Väisälä-Brunt frequencyN has been analysed using the results of more than 600 soundings made in various regions of the world's oceans. Allowing for the series of theoretical and experimental indications of the fact that the vertical scaleL at the boundary between the fine structure and microstructure in the ocean exists under the effect of processes of breaking of internal waves and hydrodynamic instability with the formation of turbulent patches, and using the energy relationships, the relationship for a solitary patch has been derived through the determining parameters. Based on two expressions forL, derived experimentally and using the energy estimations, the relationships for the averaged rate of absorption of the wave field energy by patches\(\bar \varepsilon \) and the coefficient of the density vertical diffusion\(\bar K_\rho \) are derived, which do not contradict a series of independent estimations fromin situ measurements.