Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Nonlinear Internal Tides in a Realistically Forced Global Ocean Simulation

Version 1 : Received: 9 August 2023 / Approved: 10 August 2023 / Online: 11 August 2023 (09:49:20 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Solano, M. S., Buijsman, M. C., Shriver, J. F., Magalhaes, J., da Silva, J., Jackson, C., et al. (2023). Nonlinear internal tides in a realistically forced global ocean simulation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 128, e2023JC019913. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC019913 Solano, M. S., Buijsman, M. C., Shriver, J. F., Magalhaes, J., da Silva, J., Jackson, C., et al. (2023). Nonlinear internal tides in a realistically forced global ocean simulation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 128, e2023JC019913. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC019913

Abstract

The decay of the low-mode internal tide due to the superharmonic energy cascade is investigated in a realistically forced global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) simulation with 1/25 degrees (4 km) horizontal grid spacing. Time-mean and depth-integrated supertidal kinetic energy is found to be largest near low-latitude internal tide generation sites, such as the Bay of Bengal, Amazon Shelf, and Mascarene Ridge. The supertidal kinetic energy can make up to 50% of the total internal tide kinetic energy several hundred kilometers from the generation sites. As opposed to the tidal flux divergence, the supertidal flux divergence does not correlate with the barotropic to baroclinic energy conversion. Instead, the time-mean and depth-integrated supertidal flux divergence correlates with the nonlinear kinetic energy transfers from (sub)tidal to supertidal frequency bands as estimated with a novel coarse-graining approach. The regular spaced banding patterns of the surface-intensified nonlinear energy transfers are attributed to semidiurnal mode 1 and mode 2 internal waves that interfere constructively at the surface. This causes patches where both surface tidal KE and nonlinear energy transfers are elevated. The simulated internal tide off the Amazon shelf steepens significantly near these patches, generating solitary-like waves in good agreement with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. Globally, we find that regions of high supertidal energy flux also show a high correlation with observed instances of solitary nonlinear internal waves.

Keywords

Nonlinear internal tides; global HYCOM

Subject

Physical Sciences, Fluids and Plasmas Physics

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