Dissipation of energy and vertical exchange in stratified basins caused by the shear instability in the field of quasiinertial internal waves

Abstract

We determine the dependences of the rate of dissipation of turbulent energy and the coefficient of vertical turbulent diffusion caused by the shear instability and breaking in the field of inertial gravity internal waves in the ocean on the local buoyancy frequency. Within the framework of a unified approach, we explain the difference between these dependences observed for the areas of the main pycnocline and the upper stratified layer and mentioned in the literature. The indicated difference is explained by the fact that, unlike the region of the main pycnocline, the characteristic vertical scale of the instability of waves in the upper stratified layer depends on stratification. The analysis is performed on the basis of the model of climatic spectrum of internal waves in the ocean proposed by the authors somewhat earlier.