Ice Covered Ocean Response to Atmospheric Storms (ICORTAS)
Abstract
The ICORTAS project proposes to investigate the spin-up and spin down of the upper ocean in response to storms. Fluctuating surface stresses excite inertial oscillations in the ocean mixed layer. It is believed that in the absence of ice cover, very little inertial energy is dissipated in the upper ocean, since observations of downward propagation energy fluxes are comparable to the near-inertial input of wind energy in the mixed layer. Instead, most of the energy propagates as internal waves in the stratified ocean below the mixed layer. These waves arise from an "inertial pumping" mechanism (Gill 1984), although D'Asaro (1995) stresses the importance of viscous coupling at the base of the mixed layer. These oscillations are in the form of near-inertial internal gravity waves, which can propagate meridionally in the frequency range between the buoyancy frequency (several cycles per hour) and the local inertial frequency (ranging from one cycle every 16 hours at mid-latitudes to one cycle every 12 hours at the poles). The evidence for significant energy input through an ice cover is contradictory, and this project aims to clarify this issue. ICORTAS proposes to investigate the spin-up and spin down of the upper ocean in response to storms. The observational system measures surface-to-bottom currents and density structure, offering a unique opportunity to expand our understanding of how the ocean couples surface mesoscale variability and wave excitation to the underlying oceanic response.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA527305
Entities
People
- Harper L. Simmons
Organizations
- University of Alaska Fairbanks