Over-reflection of internal-inertial waves from the mixed layer

Abstract

Near-inertial oscillations associated with downward energy propagation are commonly observed in the upper ocean. Stern (1977) has suggested that these observations may be internal-inertial waves over-reflected from the shear zone at the base of the mixed layer. In this paper we develop a criterion for over-reflection as a function of wavenumber and frequency for a class of shear flows in the mixed layer. By examining the vertical profile of the vertical wave action flux we demonstrate that the source of the over-reflection is the shear at the base of the mixed layer, which is maintained by the wind-induced turbulent Reynolds stress, here parametrized as a body force. The relationship between over-reflection and the wave-induced Lagrangian-mean flow is determined. We also determine a criterion for unstable waves, and show that these are contiguous in wavenumber-frequency space with points of resonant over-reflection. However, the growth rates of these unstable waves are quite small, and in practice unstable waves will be indistinguishable from waves generated by over-reflection.