Model Simulation of M2 Internal Tide at the Mariana Double Ridges

Abstract

In this study, M2 tidal energy and tide-induced mixing in the Mariana double ridges are investigated with a high-resolution three-dimensional non-hydrostatic numerical model and baroclinic energy budget analysis. The interference effect of the double ridges on the internal tide in the Mariana is examined by omitting either the eastern or the western ridge. Our results show that the baroclinic velocity on the sides of the interior facing slopes of the double ridges is larger than that on the other sides. In the double ridges, high values of dissipation reaching O (10−6 W kg−1) are accompanied by diapycnal diffusivity reaching O (10−1 m2 s−1), which is several orders of magnitude higher than the mixing of the open ocean. The bottom diapycnal mixing in the inner region between the two ridges is one order of magnitude larger than the mixing outside the ridges, indicating the important role of the interference of the double-ridge topography on the mixing in the Mariana Arc. Omitting either the eastern or the western ridge would have a significant impact on tide current, baroclinic energy flux and dissipation, and diapycnal mixing. The internal tide conversion, dissipation, and flux divergence are amplified by the double ridge topography, especially in the central part of the double ridges. Through energy budgets analysis, we conclude that the eastern ridge is the main source of the baroclinic tide in the Mariana double ridges.