Abstract
Abstract A series of new analyses of the problem of the evolution of the internal gravity wave field that is excited when a uniformly stratified fluid flows over monochromatic topography is presented. Results demonstrate that upward-propagating waves overturn and break when they reach sufficient amplitude. The breaking of the wave field may occur due to either one or the other of two main effects, namely, the instability of the propagating wave front and the instability of the wave established behind the advancing front. The analysis of the wave–mean flow momentum transfer process reveals significant differences between these results and the predictions of two main gravity wave drag parameterization schemes (viz., those based upon so-called saturation theory and the spectral theory based on the critical layer absorption mechanism) regarding the dynamics of wave breaking and the spatial distribution of the resulting momentum transfer. The vertical extent and structure of the breaking region and, hence, the...
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