Abstract's details

Interactions of Tides and Mesoscales in a High-Resolution Numerical Ocean Model

Edward Zaron (Portland State University, United States)

Event: 2014 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting

Session: Tides, internal tides and high-frequency processes

Presentation type: Type Poster

Contribution: PDF file

Abstract:

Output from a high-resolution operational ocean model, AMSEAS, is analyzed to identify interactions between internal tides, which are high-frequency internal gravity waves, and mesoscales, the low-frequency balanced motion, in the Caribbean Sea. Tidal amplitudes, while small, are discernable in the SSH at scales smaller than 150km, with contributions from both the coherent (phase-locked) and incoherent internal tides. Dynamical interactions are analyzed by decomposing the velocity field into three components: a low-frequency mesoscale, coherent tides, and a high-frequency residual, and evaluating the Reynolds stresses for each component. A comparison of Reynolds stresses and their relation to the mesoscale suggests where and how tides interact with the low frequency flow in the ocean.
 
Edward Zaron
Portland State University
United States
ezaron@pdx.edu