Generation of internal tides by an oscillating background flow along a corrugated slope

Abstract

The process of internal wave generation by the interaction of an oscillatory background flow (U0 cos (ω0t), V0 sin (ω0t), W0 sin (ω0t)) over a uniform slope is investigated. The stratification is assumed to be uniform and the fluid of infinite depth. Analytical solutions are obtained which give the energy flux in the radiating internal wave field. Since waves are generated not only at the fundamental frequency ω0, but also at all the harmonic frequencies less than the buoyancy frequency, the energy flux for both low and high frequency waves is considered. The acoustic limit approximation (the limiting case in which the tidal excursion, U0/ω0, is much less than the scale of the topography) gives a reasonable approximation to the energy flux.