Internal-Wave Energy Fluxes on the New Jersey Shelf

Abstract

Abstract Internal-wave energetics derived from moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) observations on the New Jersey shelf are described. Horizontal and vertical velocity components from three 40-day ADCP records acquired near the shelf edge south of the Hudson Canyon were bandpass filtered to isolate high-frequency internal waves. In this band (0.5–7.5 h−1) the vertical component of velocity is significant and is integrated to yield elevation anomaly. Using the ADCP data with buoyancy frequency profiles from nearby CTD station data, kinetic energy (KE), baroclinic potential energy (PE), and energy flux were calculated. Results show depth-averaged KE and PE are nearly equal and of order 10−3 J kg−1, and there are significant northwestward fluxes, generally parallel to the bathymetry gradient, during most of the record, with depth-integrated magnitudes sometimes exceeding 100 W m−1. Vertical energy fluxes are small relative to horizontal fluxes. Vertical profiles of time-averaged flux suggest a dominant first internal-wave mode. Depth-integrated, time-averaged fluxes range from 9 to 24 W m−1, with the highest values occurring 18 km southwest of the Hudson Canyon. Two-dimensional probability density functions are estimated for energy flux. Group velocity of a large-amplitude internal-wave packet is estimated at 0.36 m s−1.