Localization of internal gravity waves in stratified channel flow

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Linear and nonlinear contributions to the localization and dynamics of internal gravity waves in a stably stratified turbulent channel flow are investigated using data from direct numerical simulations (DNS). The classification into linear and nonlinear mechanisms is based on the resolvent formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations, which interprets velocity and temperature fluctuations (flow response) as the result of a linear operator (resolvent) acting on the nonlinear advection terms (forcing). Spatial and spatio-temporal power spectral densities computed from DNS data demonstrate that the stratified flow response is localized in spectral space and in the channel core, while the nonlinear forcing is broadband and spans up to the entire channel height. The localization of the velocity and temperature fluctuations in wavenumber and frequency is captured by the leading singular value of the resolvent operator. The wall-normal localization on the other hand results from a combination of linear dynamics and nonlinear forcing, and the latter is further examined using the cross-spectral density (CSD) tensor. Wall-normal subsets of the forcing CSD lead to flow responses that reveal a three-layer structure. The middle one hosts the critical layer of the gravity wave, and is termed the outer layer since it is flanked by an inner layer at the wall and the core region at the channel centre. Forcing within this outer layer generates the majority of the flow response in the channel core. Furthermore, a decomposition of the forcing CSD into velocity and temperature demonstrates that each imprints distinct phase relations on their associated responses, which lead to destructive interference and localization of the gravity waves in the channel core.