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Surface reflection of bottom generated oceanic lee waves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2021

L.E. Baker Open the ORCID record for L.E. Baker [Opens in a new window]  and
A. Mashayek Open the ORCID record for A. Mashayek [Opens in a new window]
L.E. Baker*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
A. Mashayek
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
*
†Email address for correspondence: l.baker18@imperial.ac.uk
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Abstract

Lee waves generated by stratified flow over rough bottom topography in the ocean extract momentum and energy from the geostrophic flow, causing drag and enhancing turbulence and mixing in the interior ocean when they break. Inviscid linear theory is generally used to predict the generation rate of lee waves, but the location and mechanism of wave breaking leading to eventual dissipation of energy and irreversible mixing are poorly constrained. In this study, a linear model with viscosity, diffusivity and an upper boundary is used to demonstrate the potential importance of the surface in reflecting lee wave energy back into the interior, making the case for treating lee waves as a full water-column process. In the absence of critical levels, it is shown that lee waves can be expected to interact with the upper ocean, resulting in enhanced vertical velocities and dissipation and mixing near the surface. The impact of the typical oceanic conditions of increasing background velocity and stratification with height above bottom are investigated and shown to contribute to enhanced upper ocean vertical velocities and mixing.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Internal waves Geophysical and Geological Flows: Topographic effects Geophysical and Geological Flows: Waves in rotating fluids
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 924 , 10 October 2021 , A17
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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