Incoherent internal tidal currents in the deep ocean

Abstract

‘Eleven months’ current meter observations from the deep Bay of Biscay were examined for the residual (incoherent internal tidal; icIT) signal, left after harmonic analysis using eight tidal constituents (large-scale barotropic or coherent baroclinic signal) within the semidiurnal band. This residual signal comprised ∼30% of the total tidal kinetic energy and, due to its flat spectral appearance, it was responsible for typically 5–7 days intermittency. Although icIT was part of the red noise internal wave band continuum, it was not attributable to instrumental noise. It consisted of quasi-harmonics at non-tidal harmonic frequencies having amplitudes larger than N2, the third largest semidiurnal tidal constituent. It is suggested that the kinetic energy at these non-tidal frequencies reflects interaction between semidiurnal tidal motions and the slowly varying background conditions.