Internal gravity wave emission from a pancake vortex: An example of wave–vortex interaction in strongly stratified flows

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1259-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Plougonven ◽  
V. Zeitlin
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Internal Gravity Wave ◽  
Stratified Flows ◽  
Vortex Interaction ◽  
Wave Emission ◽  
Pancake Vortex

scholarly journals Internal Gravity Wave Emission in Different Dynamical Regimes

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1709-1730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manita Chouksey ◽  
Carsten Eden ◽  
Nils Brüggemann
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Internal Gravity Wave ◽  
Internal Gravity Waves ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Full State ◽  
Dynamical Regimes ◽  
Wave Emission ◽  
Balanced Flow

AbstractWe aim to diagnose internal gravity waves emitted from balanced flow and investigate their role in the downscale transfer of energy. We use an idealized numerical model to simulate a range of baroclinically unstable flows to mimic dynamical regimes ranging from ageostrophic to quasigeostrophic flows. Wavelike signals present in the simulated flows, seen for instance in the vertical velocity, can be related to gravity wave activity identified by frequency and frequency–wavenumber spectra. To explicitly assign the energy contributions to the balanced and unbalanced (gravity) modes, we perform linear and nonlinear modal decomposition to decompose the full state variable into its balanced and unbalanced counterparts. The linear decomposition shows a reasonable separation of the slow and fast modes but is no longer valid when applied to a nonlinear system. To account for the nonlinearity in our system, we apply the normal mode initialization technique proposed by Machenhauer in 1977. Further, we assess the strength of the gravity wave activity and dissipation related to the decomposed modes for different dynamical regimes. We find that gravity wave emission becomes increasingly stronger going from quasigeostrophic to ageostrophic regime. The kinetic energy tied to the unbalanced mode scales close to Ro2 (or Ri−1), with Ro and Ri being the Rossby and Richardson numbers, respectively. Furthermore, internal gravity waves dissipate predominantly through small-scale dissipation, which emphasizes their role in the downscale energy transfer.

On parametric instabilities of finite-amplitude internal gravity waves

1982 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 367-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Klostermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Internal Gravity Wave ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Internal Gravity Waves ◽  
Resonant Interaction ◽  
Finite Amplitude ◽  
Interaction Diagram ◽  
Parametric Instabilities ◽  
Boussinesq Fluid

The equations describing parametric instabilities of a finite-amplitude internal gravity wave in an inviscid Boussinesq fluid are studied numerically. By improving the numerical approach, discarding the concept of spurious roots and considering the whole range of directions of the Floquet vector, Mied's work is generalized to its full complexity. In the limit of large disturbance wavenumbers, the unstable disturbances propagate in the directions of the two infinite curve segments of the related resonant-interaction diagram. They can therefore be classified into two families which are characterized by special propagation directions. At high wavenumbers the maximum growth rates converge to limits which do not depend on the direction of the Floquet vector. The limits are different for both families; the disturbance waves propagating at the smaller angle to the basic gravity wave grow at the larger rate.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 737-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Eden ◽  
Friederike Pollmann ◽  
Dirk Olbers
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Numerical Evaluation ◽  
Weak Interactions ◽  
Wave Spectrum ◽  
Internal Gravity Wave ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Spectral Slope ◽  
Energy Transfers ◽  
Mixing Rates

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.

scholarly journals Gravity Wave Emission by Shear Instability

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2393-2406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Eden ◽  
Manita Chouksey ◽  
Dirk Olbers
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Internal Gravity Waves ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Wave Signal ◽  
Wave Emission ◽  
Balanced Flow ◽  
Single Layer Model

AbstractGravity wave emission by geostrophically balanced flow is diagnosed in numerical simulations of lateral and vertical shear instabilities. The diagnostic method in use allows for a separation of balanced flow and residual wave signal up to fourth order in the Rossby number (Ro). While evidence is found for a small but finite gravity wave emission from balanced flow in a single-layer model with large lateral shear and large Ro, a vertically resolved model with moderate velocity amplitudes appropriate to the interior ocean hardly shows any wave emission. Only when static instabilities generated by the shear instability of the balanced flow are allowed can a gravity wave signal similar to the ones reported in earlier studies be detected in the vertically resolved case. This result suggests a relatively small role of spontaneous wave emission in the classical sense of Lighthill radiation, and emphasizes the role of convective or symmetric instabilities during frontogenesis for the generation of internal gravity waves in the ocean and atmosphere.

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