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Deep-ocean mixing driven by small-scale internal tides
Clément Vic1,2, Alberto C Naveira Garabato3, J A Mattias Green4
1Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK. clement.vic@univ-brest.fr.
Nature Communications
|May 10, 2019
Summary
Small-scale internal tides, previously overlooked, are the primary drivers of global ocean mixing and energy dissipation. Understanding their geographical variations is crucial for accurate climate models.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Climate Science
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Turbulent mixing in the deep ocean is essential for regulating Earth's climate by transporting heat, freshwater, and biogeochemical tracers.
- Tides generate internal waves, or internal tides, which are a major energy source for deep ocean mixing, but their dissipation pathways remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the energetic contribution of small-scale internal tides to global ocean mixing.
- To understand the geographical distribution of internal tide energy.
- To improve the representation of ocean mixing in climate models.
Main Methods:
- Combined a semi-analytical model of internal tide generation with satellite and in situ measurements.
- Analyzed the energy budget of internal tide generation and breaking.
- Assessed the geographical variations in internal tide energy proportion.
Main Results:
- Small-scale internal tides account for over 50% of global internal tide generation, breaking, and mixing.
- Significant geographical variations in the energy proportion of small-scale internal tides were identified.
- Current climate models overlook the pronounced energy contribution of small-scale internal tides.
Conclusions:
- Small-scale internal tides play a dominant role in ocean mixing and energy dissipation.
- Accurate climate modeling requires incorporating the geographical variability of small-scale internal tide mixing.
- A new, physically consistent approach is proposed for representing small-scale internal tide dissipation in climate models.
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