Stratified Flow, Wave Packet Reflection and Topographic Currents
Abstract
In our internal-wave project, we are using numerical simulations to study the dynamical evolution of flow in the oceanic buoyancy spectral range (roughly from 1 m to 10 m in vertical scales). Full three-dimensional simulations of structures in that range could help us understand better the observations of oceanic fine structure. Further, we are seeking an understanding of the evolution of internal wave packets. The observations of Alford and Pinkel (2000) show that overturning in the thermocline is often associated with the passage of an internal wave packet. Typical overturns have a vertical scale of about 2 m while the internal vertical wavelength within the packet is order 10 m. The vertical dimension of the observed packets is on the order of 50 m, and they propagate vertically over distances on the order of 200 m. We hope to model numerically and theoretically the evolution of such packets and their interaction with the ambient field. We also plan to study in detail the process of reflection of a packet, as opposed to a continuous beam, from a topographic slope. In our project on coastal interactions, the questions that we are trying to answer have to do with how the presence of a coast affects the basic processes involved in the evolution of vortices and currents. We wish to understand the role that bottom topography plays in permitting or inhibiting the bifurcations of coastal currents.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 05, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA382962
Entities
People
- George F. Carnevale
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography