On the Importance of Weak Steady Shear in the Refraction of Short Internal Waves

Abstract

Ray theory is used to study the refraction of short oceanic internal waves by a spectrum of large amplitude inertia waves superimposed on a weakly sheared steady current. The results suggest that the steady current has a significant cumulative effect on short-wave propagation over the timescale of a few inertia periods. The strength of ray convergence is also computed, as this affects short-wave amplitudes. Typically we find weak ray convergence and much slower growth toward instability with increasing vertical wavenumber than in a steady-shear critical-layer model.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 15, 1999
Accession Number
ADA530491

Entities

People

  • Dave Broutman
  • Greg Buckley
  • James W. Rottman
  • Stephen Eckermann

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplitude
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Mechanics
  • Cartesian Coordinates
  • Convergence
  • Dead Reckoning
  • Electronic Mail
  • Frequency
  • Internal Waves
  • Military Research
  • Oceans
  • Ray Tracing
  • Refraction
  • Wave Power
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waves
  • Weak Convergence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Economics
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.