Cooling and internal waves on the Continental Shelf
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4782DOI
10.1575/1912/4782Keyword
Internal waves; Oceanic mixing; Ocean circulationAbstract
The evolution of a coastal ocean undergoing uniform surface heat loss is examined. The dynamics of this ocean are
initially modulated by the intense vertical mixing driven by surface cooling. The strong vertical mixing prevents the
formation of geostrophic flows and inhibits the cross-shelf flux of heat. The vertical mixing is eventually suppressed by the
advective transport of cold, dense water offshore.
Once this happens, alongshore geostrophic flows form, and become baroclinically unstable. The surface heat flux is
then balanced by a cross-shelf eddy heat flux. Scales are found for the cross-shelf density gradient which results from this
balance.
Solutions for linear internal waves are found for a wedge-shaped bathymetry with bottom friction. Bottom friction is
capable of entirely dissipating the waves before they reach the coast, and waves traveling obliquely offshore are reflected
back to the coast from a caustic.
The internal wave climate near two moorings of the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment observation program is
analyzed. The high frequency internal wave energy levels were elevated above the Garrett and Munk spectrum, and the
spectrum becomes less red as one moves to the shore. The wave field is dominated by vertical-mode one waves, and
internal wave energy propagates shoreward.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 1998
Collections
Suggested Citation
Thesis: Pringle, James M., "Cooling and internal waves on the Continental Shelf", 1998-06, DOI:10.1575/1912/4782, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4782Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Effects of internal waves on low frequency, long range, acoustic propagation in the deep ocean
Xu, Jinshan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2007-09)This thesis covers a comprehensive analysis of long-range, deep-ocean, low-frequency, sound propagation experimental results obtained from the North Pacific Ocean. The statistics of acoustic fields after propagation ... -
Internal tide generation by tall ocean ridges
Echeverri Mondragon, Paula (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2009-09)Internal tides are internal waves of tidal period generated by tidal currents flowing over submarine topography. Tall ridges that are nominally two-dimensional (2-D) are sites of particularly strong generation. The ... -
Measurements and models of fine-structure, internal gravity waves and wave breaking in the deep ocean
Eriksen, Charles C. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1976-09)Measurements of horizontal and vertical current by propeller cluster current meters and temperature by thermistors mounted on a rigid array 8 m high and 20 m long moored in the oceanic main thermocline near Bermuda are ...