Dissipation Of Internal Waves Research Articles

Enhanced Dissipation of Internal Tides in a Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddy

Abstract The dissipation of low-mode internal tides as they propagate through mesoscale baroclinic eddies is examined using a series of numerical simulations, complemented by three-dimensional ray tracing calculations. The incident mode-1 internal tide is refracted into convergent energy beams, resulting in a zone of reduced energy flux in the lee of the eddy. The dissipation of internal tides is significantly enhanced in the upper water column within strongly baroclinic (anticyclonic) eddies, exhibiting a spatially asymmetric pattern, due to trapped high-mode internal tides. Where the eddy velocity opposes the internal tide propagation velocity, high-mode waves can be trapped within the eddy, whereas high modes can freely propagate away from regions where eddy and internal wave velocities are in the same direction. The trapped high modes with large vertical shear are then dissipated, with the asymmetric distribution of trapping leading to the asymmetric distribution of dissipation. Three-dimensional ray tracing solutions further illustrate the importance of the baroclinic current for wave trapping. Similar enhancement of dissipation is also found for a baroclinic cyclonic eddy. However, a barotropic eddy is incapable of facilitating robust high modes and thus cannot generate significant dissipation of internal tides, despite its strong velocities. Both energy transfer from low to high modes in the baroclinic eddy structure and trapping of those high modes by the eddy velocity field are therefore necessary to produce internal wave dissipation, a conclusion confirmed by examining the sensitivity of the internal tide dissipation to eddy radius, vorticity, and vertical scale. Significance Statement The oceanic tides drive underwater waves at the tidal frequency known as internal tides. When these waves break, or dissipate, they can lead to mixing of oceanic heat and salt which impacts the ocean circulation and climate. Accurate climate predictions require computer models that correctly represent the distribution of this mixing. Here we explore how an oceanic eddy, a swirling vortex of order 100–400 km across, can locally enhance the dissipation of oceanic internal tides. We find that strong ocean eddies can be hotspots for internal tide dissipation, for both clockwise and anticlockwise rotating vortices, and surface-enhanced eddies are most effective at internal tide dissipation. These results can improve climate model representations of tidally driven mixing, leading to more credible future predictions.

Observations of Internal Wave Interactions in a Southern Ocean Standing Meander

Abstract We characterize the internal wave field at a standing meander of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) where strong winds, bathymetry, and a strong eddy field combine to form a dynamic environment for the generation and dissipation of internal waves. We use Electromagnetic Autonomous Profiling Explorer float data spanning 0–1600 m depth collected from a meander near the Macquarie Ridge, south of Australia. Of the 112 internal waves identified, 69% are associated with upward energy propagation. Most of the upward propagating waves (35%) are found near the Polar Front and are likely generated by mean flow–topography interactions. Generation by wind forcing at the sea surface is likely responsible for more than 40% of the downward propagating waves. Our results highlight advection of the waves and wave–mean flow interactions within the ACC as the dominant processes affecting the wave dynamics. The larger dissipation time scales of the waves compared to advection suggests they are likely to dissipate away from the generation site. We find that about 79% (66%) of the waves in cyclonic eddies (the Subantarctic Front) are influenced by horizontal strain, whereas 92% of the waves in the slower Polar Front are influenced by the relative vorticity of the background flow. There is energy exchange between internal waves and the mean flow, in both directions. The mean energy transfer (1.4 ± 1.0 × 10−11 m2 s−3) is from the mean flow to the waves in all dynamic regions except in anticyclonic eddies. The strongest energy exchange (5.0 ± 3.7 × 10−11 m2 s−3) is associated with waves in cyclonic eddies.

A Model of Energy and Spectral Shape for the Internal Gravity Wave Field in the Deep Sea: The Parametric IDEMIX Model

Abstract The spectral description of the energy of oceanic internal gravity waves is generally represented by the Garrett–Munk (GM) model, a function with a power-law decrease of spectral energy in wavenumber–frequency space. Besides the slopes of these power laws, the spectrum is expressed as a function of energy and a bandwidth parameter that fixes the range of vertical modes excited in the respective state. Whereas concepts have been developed and agreed upon of what processes feed the wave spectrum and what dissipates energy, there is no explanation of what shapes the spectral distribution, i.e., how the power laws come about and what sets the bandwidth. The present study develops a parametric spectral model of energy and bandwidth from the basic underlying energy balance in terms of forcing, propagation, refraction, spectral transfer, and dissipation. The model is an extension of the IDEMIX (Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing) models where bandwidth was taken as a constant parameter. The current version of the model is restricted to single-column mode and the slopes of the spectral power laws are fixed. A coupled system of predictive equations for energy and bandwidth (for up- and downward propagating waves) results. The equations imply that bandwidth relates to energy by a power law with an exponent given by the dynamical parameters. It agrees favorably with energy, bandwidth, and slope data from previously published fits of the GM model to Argo float observations. Numerical solutions of the coupled energy–bandwidth model in stand-alone modus are presented.

Energetics and Mixing of Stratified, Rotating Flow over Abyssal Hills

Abstract One of the proposed mechanisms for energy loss in the ocean is through dissipation of internal waves, in particular above rough topography where internal lee waves are generated. Rates of dissipation and diapycnal mixing are often estimated using linear internal wave generation theory and a constant value for mixing efficiency. However, previous oceanographic measurements found that nonlinear dynamics may be important close to topography. To investigate the role of nonlinear interactions, we conduct idealized 3D direct numerical simulations (DNS) of steady flow over 1D topography and vary the topographic height, which correlates to the degree of flow nonlinearity. We analyze the spatial distribution of energy transfer rates between internal waves and the nongeostrophic portion of the time-mean flow, and of dissipation and diapycnal mixing rates. In our simulations with taller, more nonlinear topographies, energy transfer rates are similar to previously unexplained oceanographic observations near topography: internal waves gain energy from time-mean flow through horizontal straining and lose energy through vertical shearing. In the tall topography simulations, buoyancy fluxes also play a significant role, consistent with observations but contrary to linear wave theory, suggesting that quasigeostrophy-based approximations and linear theory may not hold in some regions above rough topography. Both dissipation and mixing rates increase with topographic height, but their vertical distributions differ between topographic regimes. As such, the vertical profile of mixing efficiency is different for linear and nonlinear topographic regimes, which may need to be incorporated into parameterizations of small-scale processes in models and estimates of ocean energy loss.

Assessment of the Finite-VolumE Sea ice–Ocean Model (FESOM2.0) – Part 2: Partial bottom cells, embedded sea ice and vertical mixing library CVMix

Abstract. The second part of the assessment and evaluation of the unstructured-mesh Finite-volumE Sea ice–Ocean Model version 2.0 (FESOM2.0) is presented. It focuses on the performance of partial cells and embedded sea ice and the effect of mixing parameterisations available through the Community Vertical Mixing (CVMix) package. It is shown that partial cells and embedded sea ice lead to significant improvements in the representation of the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current and the circulation of the Arctic Ocean. In addition to the already existing Pacanowski and Phillander (fesom_PP) and K-profile (fesom_KPP) parameterisations for vertical mixing in FESOM2.0, we document the impact of several mixing parameterisations from the CVMix project library. Among them are the CVMix versions of Pacanowski and Phillander (cvmix_PP) and K-profile (cvmix_KPP) parameterisations; the tidal mixing parameterisation (cvmix_TIDAL); a vertical mixing parameterisation based on turbulent kinetic energy (cvmix_TKE); and a combination of cvmix_TKE and the recent scheme for the computation of the Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy, and Mixing (IDEMIX) parameterisation. IDEMIX parameterises the redistribution of internal wave energy through wave propagation, non-linear interactions and the associated imprint on the vertical background diffusivity. Further, the benefit from using a parameterisation of Southern Hemisphere sea ice melt season mixing in the surface layer (MOMIX) for reducing Southern Ocean hydrographic biases in FESOM2.0 is presented. We document the implementation of different model components and illustrate their behaviour. This paper serves primarily as a reference for FESOM users but is also useful to the broader modelling community.

Comparison of ocean vertical mixing schemes in the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2)

Abstract. For the first time, we compare the effects of four different ocean vertical mixing schemes on the mean state of the ocean and atmosphere in the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2). These four schemes are namely the default Pacanowski and Philander (1981) (PP) scheme, the K-profile parameterization (KPP) from the Community Vertical Mixing (CVMix) library, a recently implemented scheme based on turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and a recently developed prognostic scheme for internal wave dissipation, energy, and mixing (IDEMIX) to replace the often assumed constant background diffusivity in the ocean interior. In this study, the IDEMIX scheme is combined with the TKE scheme (collectively called the TKE+IDEMIX scheme) to provide an energetically more consistent framework for mixing, as it does not rely on the unwanted effect of creating spurious energy for mixing. Energetic consistency can have implications on the climate. Therefore, we focus on the effects of TKE+IDEMIX on the climate mean state and compare them with the first three schemes that are commonly used in other models but are not energetically consistent. We find warmer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas using KPP or TKE(+IDEMIX), which is related to 10 % higher overflows that cause a stronger and deeper upper cell of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and thereby an enhanced northward heat transport and higher inflow of warm and saline water from the Indian Ocean into the South Atlantic. Saltier subpolar North Atlantic and Nordic Seas lead to increased deep convection and thus to the increased overflows. Due to the warmer SSTs, the extratropics of the Northern Hemisphere become warmer with TKE(+IDEMIX), weakening the meridional gradient and thus the jet stream. With KPP, the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere also become warmer without weakening the jet stream. Using an energetically more consistent scheme (TKE+IDEMIX) produces a more heterogeneous and realistic pattern of vertical eddy diffusivity, with lower diffusivities in deep and flat-bottom basins and elevated turbulence over rough topography. IDEMIX improves in particular the diffusivity in the Arctic Ocean and reduces the warm bias in the Atlantic Water layer. We conclude that although shortcomings due to model resolution determine the global-scale bias pattern, the choice of the vertical mixing scheme may play an important role for regional biases.

Application of the IDEMIX Concept for Internal Gravity Waves in the Atmosphere

AbstractThe model Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing (IDEMIX) presents a novel way of parameterizing internal gravity waves in the atmosphere. IDEMIX is based on the spectral energy balance of the wave field and has previously been successfully developed as a model for diapycnal diffusivity, induced by internal gravity wave breaking in oceans. Applied here for the first time to atmospheric gravity waves, integration of the energy balance equation for a continuous wave field of a given spectrum, results in prognostic equations for the energy density of eastward and westward gravity waves. It includes their interaction with the mean flow, allowing for an evolving and local description of momentum flux and gravity wave drag. A saturation mechanism maintains the wave field within convective stability limits, and a closure for critical-layer effects controls how much wave flux propagates from the troposphere into the middle atmosphere. Offline comparisons to a traditional parameterization reveal increases in the wave momentum flux in the middle atmosphere due to the mean-flow interaction, resulting in a greater gravity wave drag at lower altitudes. Preliminary validation against observational data show good agreement with momentum fluxes.

Variability of internal tide energy, mixing and nitrate fluxes in response to changes in stratification on the northeast New Zealand continental shelf

ABSTRACT A 4-month time series of water column temperature structure on the shelf of North Island New Zealand is used to calculate the energy in the internal tide as stratification evolved between spring and summer. Average total energy in the internal tidal wave was 200 J m−2, with peaks reaching 600 J m−2. Wave energy was weakly correlated with stratification (r = 0.2) and with the spring-neap cycle of tidal currents (r = 0.17). Overall there was little predictability in internal tide behaviour in response to the physical environment. Reduction in wave energy was associated with a downwelling-favourable wind event which reduced stratification by mixing and by removing deeper water off the shelf. Vertical eddy diffusivity driven by internal wave dissipation ranged between 5.6 × 10−5 and 3.2 × 10−4 m2 s−1. Combined with nitrate data this diffusivity resulted in diapycnal nitrate fluxes towards the sea surface of 1.6–2.2 mmol m−2 day−1. Strong stratification in summer reduced the eddy diffusivity but had little effect on nitrate flux as a strengthened vertical nitrate gradient compensated for the reduced diffusivity. This compensation will be important when predicting how stronger stratification in a warmer climate might alter diapycnal nutrient supplies to the upper ocean.

Downstream Propagation and Remote Dissipation of Internal Waves in the Southern Ocean

AbstractRecent microstructure observations in the Southern Ocean report enhanced internal gravity waves and turbulence in the frontal regions of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current extending a kilometer above rough bottom topography. Idealized numerical simulations and linear theory show that geostrophic flows impinging on rough small-scale topography are very effective generators of internal waves and estimate vigorous wave radiation, breaking, and turbulence within a kilometer above bottom. However, both idealized simulations and linear theory assume periodic and spatially uniform topography and tend to overestimate the observed levels of turbulent energy dissipation locally at the generation sites. In this study, we explore the downstream evolution and remote dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic flows using a series of numerical, realistic topography simulations and parameters typical of Drake Passage. The results show that significant levels of internal wave kinetic energy and energy dissipation are present downstream of the rough topography, internal wave generation site. About 30%–40% of the energy dissipation occurs locally over the rough topography region, where internal waves are generated. The rest of the energy dissipation takes place remotely and decays downstream of the generation site with ane-folding length scale of up to 20–30 km. The model we use is two-dimensional with enhanced viscosity coefficients, and hence it can result in the underestimation of the remote wave dissipation and its decay length scale. The implications of our results for turbulent energy dissipation observations and mixing parameterizations are discussed.

Numerical Evaluation of Energy Transfers in Internal Gravity Wave Spectra of the Ocean

AbstractSpectral energy transfers by internal gravity wave–wave interactions for given empirical energy spectra are evaluated numerically from the kinetic equation that is derived from the assumption of weak interactions. Wave spectrum parameters, such as bandwidth, spectral slope, and Coriolis frequency f, are varied, as is the spectral resolution. In agreement with previous studies, we find in all cases a forward energy cascade toward smaller vertical and horizontal wavelengths. Energy sinks due to the transfers are predominantly at frequencies between 2f and 3f. While the mechanism of the energy transfer differs partly from findings of previous studies, a parameterization for internal wave dissipation—which is used in the fine structure parameterization to estimate dissipation and mixing rates from observations—agrees well with the numerical evaluation of the energy transfers. We also find a dependency of the energy transfers on the spectral slope, offering the possibility to decrease the bias of the fine structure parameterization by improving the knowledge about the spatial variations of this (and other) spectral parameter.

Internal Waves in the Arctic: Influence of Ice Concentration, Ice Roughness, and Surface Layer Stratification

AbstractThe Arctic ice cover influences the generation, propagation, and dissipation of internal waves, which in turn may affect vertical mixing in the ocean interior. The Arctic internal wavefield and its relationship to the ice cover is investigated using observations from Ice‐Tethered Profilers with Velocity and Seaglider sampling during the 2014 Marginal Ice Zone experiment in the Canada Basin. Ice roughness, ice concentration, and wind forcing all influenced the daily to seasonal changes in the internal wavefield. Three different ice concentration thresholds appeared to determine the evolution of internal wave spectral energy levels: (1) the initial decrease from 100% ice concentration after which dissipation during the surface reflection was inferred to increase, (2) the transition to 70–80% ice concentration when the local generation of internal waves increased, and (3) the transition to open water that was associated with larger‐amplitude internal waves. Ice roughness influenced internal wave properties for ice concentrations greater than approximately 70–80%: smoother ice was associated with reduced local internal wave generation. Richardson numbers were rarely supercritical, consistent with weak vertical mixing under all ice concentrations. On decadal timescales, smoother ice may counteract the effects of lower ice concentration on the internal wavefield complicating future predictions of internal wave activity and vertical mixing.

Climate Process Team on Internal Wave-Driven Ocean Mixing.

Diapycnal mixing plays a primary role in the thermodynamic balance of the ocean and, consequently, in oceanic heat and carbon uptake and storage. Though observed mixing rates are on average consistent with values required by inverse models, recent attention has focused on the dramatic spatial variability, spanning several orders of magnitude, of mixing rates in both the upper and deep ocean. Away from ocean boundaries, the spatio-temporal patterns of mixing are largely driven by the geography of generation, propagation and dissipation of internal waves, which supply much of the power for turbulent mixing. Over the last five years and under the auspices of US CLIVAR, a NSF- and NOAA-supported Climate Process Team has been engaged in developing, implementing and testing dynamics-based parameterizations for internal-wave driven turbulent mixing in global ocean models. The work has primarily focused on turbulence 1) near sites of internal tide generation, 2) in the upper ocean related to wind-generated near inertial motions, 3) due to internal lee waves generated by low-frequency mesoscale flows over topography, and 4) at ocean margins. Here we review recent progress, describe the tools developed, and discuss future directions.

Evaluating the Global Internal Wave Model IDEMIX Using Finestructure Methods

AbstractSmall-scale turbulent mixing affects large-scale ocean processes such as the global overturning circulation but remains unresolved in ocean models. Since the breaking of internal gravity waves is a major source of this mixing, consistent parameterizations take internal wave energetics into account. The model Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing (IDEMIX) predicts the internal wave energy, dissipation rates, and diapycnal diffusivities based on a simplification of the spectral radiation balance of the wave field and can be used as a mixing module in global numerical simulations. In this study, it is evaluated against finestructure estimates of turbulent dissipation rates derived from Argo float observations. In addition, a novel method to compute internal gravity wave energy from finescale strain information alone is presented and applied. IDEMIX well reproduces the magnitude and the large-scale variations of the Argo-derived dissipation rate and energy level estimates. Deficiencies arise with respect to the detailed vertical structure or the spatial extent of mixing hot spots. This points toward the need to improve the forcing functions in IDEMIX, both by implementing additional physical detail and by better constraining the processes already included in the model. A prominent example is the energy transfer from the mesoscale eddies to the internal gravity waves, which is identified as an essential contributor to turbulent mixing in idealized simulations but needs to be better understood through the help of numerical, analytical, and observational studies in order to be represented realistically in ocean models.

Mapping turbulent diffusivity associated with oceanic internal lee waves offshore Costa Rica

Abstract. Breaking internal waves play a primary role in maintaining the meridional overturning circulation. Oceanic lee waves are known to be a significant contributor to diapycnal mixing associated with internal wave dissipation, but direct measurement is difficult with standard oceanographic sampling methods due to the limited spatial extent of standing lee waves. Here, we present an analysis of oceanic internal lee waves observed offshore eastern Costa Rica using seismic imaging and estimate the turbulent diffusivity via a new seismic slope spectrum method that extracts diffusivities directly from seismic images, using tracked reflections only to scale diffusivity values. The result provides estimates of turbulent diffusivities throughout the water column at scales of a few hundred meters laterally and 10 m vertically. Synthetic tests demonstrate the method's ability to resolve turbulent structures and reproduce accurate diffusivities. A turbulence map of our seismic section in the western Caribbean shows elevated turbulent diffusivities near rough seafloor topography as well as in the mid-water column where observed lee wave propagation terminates. Mid-water column hotspots of turbulent diffusivity show levels 5 times higher than surrounding waters and 50 times greater than typical open-ocean diffusivities. This site has steady currents that make it an exceptionally accessible laboratory for the study of lee-wave generation, propagation, and decay.

Internal tides and tidal cycles of vertical mixing in western Long Island Sound

AbstractIn estuaries, tidal period variations in the rate of vertical mixing have been observed to result from various causes: in Liverpool Bay and the York River, they have been attributed to tidal straining of the along‐channel density gradient modulating stratification; in the Hudson River they arise from tidal modulation of the height of the tidal current bottom boundary layer (BBL). Along continental shelves, tidal period fluctuations in mixing have been observed to result from the dissipation of internal waves (IWs). Western Long Island Sound (WLIS) moored instrument records indicate that large near‐bottom increases in dissolved oxygen (DO) and heat and a decrease in salt occur during the middle of the flood tide: an analysis of water mass signatures indicates that the transport involved is vertical and not horizontal. Temperature data from a vertical thermistor array deployed in the WLIS for 16 days in August 2009 clearly show a tidal cycle of IW activity creating a mean thermocline depression at midflood of approximately 25% of the water depth with individual IW thermocline depressions of as much as 50% of the water depth. Contemporaneous ADCP measurements show increases in shear due to IWs during the flood. Near‐bottom internal wave activity is maximal at and after midflood and is correlated with near‐bottom temperature and DO tendencies at both tidal and subtidal scales. We conclude that internal tides are an important vertical mixing mechanism in the WLIS through both increased shear from IWs and displacement of the pycnocline into the region of high shear in the BBL.

An Energy Compartment Model for Propagation, Nonlinear Interaction, and Dissipation of Internal Gravity Waves

Abstract The recently proposed Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing (IDEMIX) model, describing the propagation and dissipation of internal gravity waves in the ocean, is extended. Compartments describing the energy contained in the internal tides and the near-inertial waves at low, vertical wavenumber are added to a compartment of the wave continuum at higher wavenumbers. Conservation equations for each compartment are derived based on integrated versions of the radiative transfer equation of weakly interacting waves. The compartments interact with each other by the scattering of tidal energy to the wave continuum by triad wave–wave interactions, which are strongly enhanced equatorward of 28° due to parametric subharmonic instability of the tide and by scattering to the continuum of both tidal and near-inertial wave energy over rough topography and at continental margins. Global numerical simulations of the resulting model using observed stratification, forcing functions, and bottom topography yield good agreement with available observations.

A Global Model for the Diapycnal Diffusivity Induced by Internal Gravity Waves

AbstractAn energetically consistent model for the diapycnal diffusivity induced by breaking of internal gravity waves is proposed and tested in local and global settings. The model [Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing (IDEMIX)] is based on the spectral radiation balance of the wave field, reduced by integration over the wavenumber space, which yields a set of balances for energy density variables in physical space. A further simplification results in a single partial differential equation for the total energy density of the wave field. The flux of energy to high vertical wavenumbers is parameterized by a functional derived from the wave–wave scattering integral of resonant wave triad interactions, which also forms the basis for estimates of dissipation rates and related diffusivities of ADCP and hydrography fine-structure data. In the current version of IDEMIX, the wave energy is forced by wind-driven near-inertial motions and baroclinic tides, radiating waves from the respective boundary layers at the surface and the bottom into the ocean interior. The model predicts plausible magnitudes and three-dimensional structures of internal wave energy, dissipation rates, and diapycnal diffusivities in rough agreement to observational estimates. IDEMIX is ready for use as a mixing module in ocean circulation models and can be extended with more spectral components.

Bottom-pressure observations of deep-sea internal hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic motions

AbstractIn the ocean, sloping bottom topography is important for the generation and dissipation of internal waves. Here, the transition of such waves to turbulence is demonstrated using an accurate bottom-pressure sensor that was moored with an acoustic Doppler current profiler and high-resolution thermistor string on the sloping side of the ocean guyot ‘Great Meteor Seamount’ (water depth 549 m). The site is dominated by the passage of strong frontal bores, moving upslope once or twice every tidal period, with a trail of high-frequency internal waves. The bore amplitude and precise timing of bore passage vary every tide. A bore induces mainly non-hydrostatic pressure, while the trailing waves induce mainly internal hydrostatic pressure. These separate (internal wave) pressure terms are independently estimated using current and temperature data, respectively. In the bottom-pressure time series, the passage of a bore is barely visible, but the trailing high-frequency internal waves are. A bore is obscured by higher-frequency pressure variations up to ${\sim} 4{\times} 1{0}^{3} ~\mathrm{cpd} \approx 80N$ (cpd, cycles per day; $N$, the large-scale buoyancy frequency). These motions dominate the turbulent state of internal tides above a sloping bottom. In contrast with previous bottom-pressure observations in other areas, infra-gravity surface waves contribute little to these pressure variations in the same frequency range. Here, such waves do not incur observed pressure. This is verified in a consistency test for large-Reynolds-number turbulence using high-resolution temperature data. The high-frequency quasi-turbulent internal motions are visible in detailed temperature and acoustic echo images, revealing a nearly permanently wave-turbulent tide going up and down the bottom slope. Over the entire observational period, the spectral slope and variance of bottom pressure are equivalent to internal hydrostatic pressure due to internal waves in the lower 100 m above the bottom, by non-hydrostatic pressure due to high-frequency internal waves and large-scale overturning. The observations suggest a transition between large-scale internal waves, small-scale internal tidal waves residing on thin (${{\sim} }1~\mathrm{m} $) stratified layers and turbulence.

Remote sensing of picophytoplankton distribution in the northern South China Sea

By using a global data set (NOMAD), improved algorithms were developed for deducing from ocean color remote sensing data the concentrations of phytoplankton pigments, total chlorophyll a (TChl_a), zeaxanthin (Zea) and fucoxanthin (Fuco), and the associated primary phytoplankton groups, namely, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, haptophytes and diatoms, in the oceans. A modified classification for the waters of the world's ocean based on the dominant phytoplankton group was then devised. By using a local data set from the northern South China Sea (NSCS), algorithms were also developed for assessing the cell abundances of picophytoplankton, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and pico-eukaryotes, in this region. These algorithms were then applied to the remotely sensed data from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectrometer at Aqua sensor (MODIS-Aqua) to study the abundances and the distributional patterns of picophytoplankton in the entire NSCS. The results agreed well with field observations, which were available only from selected locations in the study area. On a basin scale, the results were consistent with expected variations in phytoplankton pigments, phytoplankton community composition, and picophytoplankton biomass, in response to the major known environmental phenomena in the NSCS, such as the progressive increase in biological productivity towards the coast, the runoff from the Pearl River, higher biological productivity in the wintertime, upwelling around the Taiwan Bank, winter upwelling northwest of the Luzon Island, and the transformation and dissipation of internal waves off the Dongsha Atoll. This work represents the first effort in estimating the cell abundances of the principal picophytoplankton groups in the oceans from space. The general application of this approach to the global ocean needs to be further validated and calibrated with a more extensive data base from field observations in other parts of the oceans.

Radiation and Dissipation of Internal Waves Generated by Geostrophic Motions Impinging on Small-Scale Topography: Application to the Southern Ocean

Abstract Recent estimates from observations and inverse models indicate that turbulent mixing associated with internal wave breaking is enhanced above rough topography in the Southern Ocean. In most regions of the ocean, abyssal mixing has been primarily associated with radiation and breaking of internal tides. In this study, it is shown that abyssal mixing in the Southern Ocean can be sustained by internal waves generated by geostrophic motions that dominate abyssal flows in this region. Theory and fully nonlinear numerical simulations are used to estimate the internal wave radiation and dissipation from lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP), CTD, and topography data from two regions in the Southern Ocean: Drake Passage and the southeast Pacific. The results show that radiation and dissipation of internal waves generated by geostrophic motions reproduce the magnitude and distribution of dissipation previously inferred from finescale measurements in the region, suggesting that it is one of the primary drivers of abyssal mixing in the Southern Ocean.