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Updated: Aug 3, 2025
08:54
Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing
Published on: February 13, 2018
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Wind-current feedback is an energy sink for oceanic internal waves
Audrey Delpech1, Roy Barkan2,3, Lionel Renault4
1Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA. adelpech@atmos.ucla.edu.
Scientific Reports
|April 11, 2023
Summary
Wind influences ocean mixing by damping internal waves, reducing wind energy input by 67% and acting as an energy sink for internal tides. This improves climate models by understanding ocean mixing dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Climate Science
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Internal waves are significant energy reservoirs in the ocean, driving turbulent mixing crucial for vertical transport of heat and carbon.
- Accurate representation of ocean mixing is vital for climate models, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of internal wave life cycles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of wind in damping internal waves and its impact on ocean mixing.
- To quantify the energy transfer mechanisms between wind, currents, and internal waves.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a regional, realistic numerical simulation in the northeastern Pacific.
- Analyzed wind-current feedback mechanisms affecting internal wave energy.
Main Results:
- Wind was found to significantly damp internal waves through current feedback, reducing wind power input at near-inertial frequencies by 67%.
- Wind-current feedback acts as an energy sink for internal tides, removing 0.2 mW/m² on average, equivalent to 8% of local generation.
Conclusions:
- Wind plays a critical role in modulating internal wave energy and ocean mixing.
- Findings enhance the understanding of ocean mixing processes, crucial for improving climate model projections.
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