Horizontal structure of the temperature field of the upper layer in the northwest part of the Tropical Atlantic

By using the data of observations over the spatial variability of the temperature field in the northwest part of the Tropical Atlantic carried out in a test range 400 × 400 miles in size with a horizontal resolution Δx ≈ 2 km and a vertical resolution Δ_z ≈ 0.5 m, we recorded quasiperiodic fluctuations of temperature with semidiurnal period in the subsurface layer. The internal baroclinic waves with the same period generated, most likely, on the northeast shelf of South America and propagating to the northeast are detected in the seasonal thermocline. The vertical fine structure of the temperature field has different intensities in the test range. The maximum levels of dispersions of temperature fluctuations are recorded on the boundary of the North Equatorial Countercurrent and the North Equatorial Current. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 44–52, November–December, 2006.     

Study of intensive internal waves in the shelf zone of Morocco

Conditions for generating a train of intensive internal waves and a solitary internal wave, as well as the evolution and dissipation of shelf waves have been studied using temperature measurements at six buoy moorings and an array of distributed temperature meters towed in the Morocco shelf zone. Waves of each type have been numerically simulated. The paper's focus is the generation of a baroclinic tide in a shelf zone and the occurrence of a packet of intensive internal waves on the back slope of a baroclinic wave. Besides, it studies the mechanism responsible for the generation of a solitary internal wave of soliton type. Thein situ data and the model data are matched up and shown to be consistent, in terms of quality and quantity. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

A description of short period temperature fluctuations in the upper ocean

Dynamical properties of short-period temperature fluctuations are studied. Water temperature was measured continuously at several depths at the following stations: at 38°29.5′N, 141°35.8′E (100 m depth) on the continental shelf off Miyagi Prefecture in the summer of 1967, at 35°01.8′N, 139°0.8.5′E (100 m depth) in Sagami Bay in the summer of 1968, and at 32°32.2′N, 129°53.7′E (74 m depth) in Tachibana Bay in the summer of 1970. These measurements were made with a thermistor array laid down from the R. V.Tanseimaru (Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo) which was fixed with bow and stern anchors. Significant temperature fluctuations found at the first and the third stations are thought to be due to first mode internal waves having amplitude 3 to 5 m and period 5 to 20 minutes. The wave length of the waves is estimated to be 25 m to 400 m from the observed density structure. At the second station, we found second-mode internal waves. The period, amplitude and wave length of the waves are about 30 minutes, 1.3 m and 600 m, respectively. In all cases, the spectral density of the temperature fluctuations decreases with increase in frequency. However, the decrease obey neither the ?3 power law nor the ?5/3 power law. Coherences in the temperature fluctuations between two depths of measurement in the seasonal thermocline are significantly high in the range of frequencies lower than the local Brunt-Väisälä frequency, but are low in the higher frequency range. At the first and the third stations, the difference in the level of coherences between the lower frequencies and the higher frequencies are large. Phase differences between two depths in the thermocline are small in the lower frequency range. This suggests that the first-mode internal waves are predominant over higher-mode internal waves and over other disturbances.     

Studies of hydrophysical processes during monitoring of the anthropogenic impact on coastal basins using the example of Mamala Bay of Oahu Island in Hawaii

This paper presents the main results of processing the data obtained in the study of hydrophysical processes during multidisciplinary monitoring of the anthropogenic impact on the coastal basin of Mamala Bay (Oahu Island, Hawaii). The results of the hydrophysical measurements carried out in August–September of 2002–2004 using stationary moorings and dropped and towed ship sensors were analyzed as the initial data. On the basis of these measurements, spatiotemporal, statistical, and spectral characteristics of different hydrophysical parameters of the marine envrionement in the basin of Mamala Bay were calculated, including three-dimensional components of the velocity vectors, the spectra of different components of velocities, the spectra of temperature fluctuations, and the characteristics of internal waves. The variability of the temperature fields and the correlation of the tidal phenomena with the temperature measurements and fluctuations caused by internal waves were analyzed. The materials and methods of the oceanographic studies and the results of the analysis of the meteorological and hydrological conditions are presented. The results obtained are used for a multidisciplinary analysis of the satellite and sea truth data.     

Interaction of short internal waves with the ice cover in an Arctic fjord

Measurements of the short internal waves in a shallow Arctic fjord revealed that the fluctuations of the temperature and current velocity with a period of approximately 10 min and the amplitude of the internal waves around 1 m correlate with the ice cover fluctuations of the same period with an approximate amplitude of a few millimeters. These results are consistent with the theory.     

On the possible generation of low-frequency microseisms by internal waves in the ocean

The conditions under which the interaction between internal waves and the rough bottom topography may be the reason for synchronous fluctuations of pressure at the bottom have been studied. Disturbances of the depth are assumed to be small compared with the mean depth of the ocean, and the Väisälä-Brunt frequency is constant. It is shown that synchronous fluctuations of pressure exist with a frequency equal to that of internal waves. The amplitude of pulsations can be approximately an order lower than the amplitude of fluctuations generated by standing surface waves. However, local maxima can exist in the low-frequency minimum of the spectrum of microseisms (in the range of 20–1000 s).Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

On vertical velocity fluctuations and internal tides in an upwelling region off the west coast of India

Hourly fluctuations of vertical velocity in relation to components of flow and wind and temperature oscillations at a morring site in the shelf waters off the west coast of India are discussed. The vertical velocities were computed from a time series of vertical temperature profiles assuming that horizontal advection of temperature is negligible. The computed values at a depth of 40 m during the 72-h period of observation were of the order of 10⁻¹ to 10⁻²cm s⁻¹, with a mean value of −2·77 × 10⁻² cm s⁻¹ indicating a net upward movement of water. The computed vertical velocity showed fluctuations of about 2–3 h, in addition to weaker signals of about 12 h. Based on the spectral estimates, we speculate that these fluctuations of 2–3 h in the vertical velocity may be caused by the fluctuations in the along-shore wind. The oscillations of isotherms found in the temperaturedepth time series and the spectral estimates of temperature and cross-shore flow component showed a periodicity of about 12 h, which indicated the presence of semi-diurnal internal waves. The fact that these internal wave troughs were associated with the measured onshore flow suggested that the waves were propagating offshore. The computed stability parameters showed little evidence of instability or mixing. It was found that the isotherm troughs in the temperaturedepth time series at about 12-h period coincided with high vertical shear in the cross-shore direction and low values of Brunt Vaisälä frequency.     

The generation of intensive short-period internal waves in the frontal zone of a coastal upwelling

The measurements data provided by an antenna of distributed temperature sensors, mounted on an oceanographic tower in the South Crimea continental shelf area, were applied to study the mechanism for the generation of short-period internal waves with anomalous amplitudes in the Black Sea. For analysis, information was incorporated concerning the background hydrological and meteorological conditions that were observed during the experiment. A mathematical model for the phenomenon under study has been constructed, and calculations of the anomalous internal wave generation have been presented. The paper contains a comparative analysis of thein situ data and simulation results, and demonstrates a good qualitative/quantitative agreement between the parameters of internal waves. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Dispersion relation of internal waves in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

Based mainly on TOGA COARE data, that is, the CI''D data from R/V Xiangyanghong No.5 (Pu et al.,1993),the temperature and current data from the Woods Hole mooring and other deep current data, the layered numerical profiles of buoyancy frequency and mean current components are figured out.A numerical method calculating internal wave dispersion relation without background shear current, used by Fliegel and Hunkins (1975),is improved to be fit for the internal wave equation with mean currents and their second derivatives.The dispersion relations and wave functions of the long crested internal wave progressing in any direction can be calculated inveniently by using the improved method.A comparison between the calculated dispersion relation in the paper and the dispersion relation in GM spectral model of ocean internal waves (Garret and Munk, 1972) is performed.It shows that the mean currents are important to the dispersion relation of internal waves in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean and that the currents make the wave progressing co-directional with (against) the currents stretched (shrink).The influence of the mean currents on dispersion relation is much stronger than that of their second derivatives, but that on wave function is less than that of their second derivatives.The influences on wave functions result in the change of vertical wavenumber, that is, making the wave function stretch or shrink.There exists obvious turning depth but no significant critical layer absorption is found.     

On the large-scale and mesoscale variability of thermohaline characteristics in the north-eastern part of the Black Sea

The data collected during an 18-day station and nine hydrologic surveys have been analysed. Mesoscale and large-scale temperature and salinity oscillations were revealed. Mesoscale oscillations in the sea surface layer are induced by the diurnal course of solar radiation, and in the seasonal thermocline layer by internal waves with a predominant 6–10 h periodicity. Large-scale fluctuations are related to the passage of clockwise (cold) and anticlockwise (warm) meanders and vortices. It has been determined that the contribution of large-scale temperature and salinity oscillations to the total variability is 1·5 to 3-fold larger than that of the mesoscale ones.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

基于Sentinel-3载荷OLCI和SRAL数据的内波同步探测研究

The ocean and land color instrument(OLCI) and synthetic aperture radar altimeter(SRAL) installed aboard the Sentinel-3 satellite have been in orbit for operational uses. In this study, data collected from Sentinel-3 are used to investigate internal waves in the South China Sea. An internal wave is detected using an OLCI image with a resolution of 300 m, and an analysis was performed with a quasi-synchronous moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) image. The opposite characteristics of OLCI and MODIS images of the same internal wave are explained by the critical angle in brightness reversals. The unique observational geometry of the OLCI image and its influence on observations of internal waves are discussed. The distribution of σ0 and sea surface height anomalies(SSHAs) induced by internal waves are studied using SRAL records. The σ0 records of SRAL occasionally show less sensitivity to the modulation of internal waves, which may be attributed to the observational geometry, while SSHAs show obvious variations. The synchronous pairing of OLCI images and SRAL records are analyzed to extract the three-dimensional sea surface signatures induced by internal waves. The analysis demonstrates that the profile of SSHAs in the surface shows an opposite phase to the profiles of internal waves in the ocean. The opposite phase relationship, observed in the remote sensing view, is also confirmed with a laboratory experiment.     

THE VERTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNAL WAVES IN SHALLOW REGION OF THE EAST CHINA SEA ANALYSED FROM CTD DATA

The vertical characters of temperature, salinity and density fluctuations in shallow region of the East China Sea are analysed by using 12 CTD short records with 1-hour intervals. The average S,t and p profiles can be divided into three distinctive layers: the thermocline, and the layers above and below it. The fluctuations of t, S and p are basically caused by internal waves, but there are somewhat intrusions or entrainments at the thermocline boundaries. The vertical displacement of the thermocline centre is up to more than 6.35m and the thermocline thickness changes from 3.5 to 8.0 m. Their varature with time are intermittent and rather irregular. The vertical wavenumber spectra of temperature fluctuations have been estimated by using the maximum entropy method, indicating that energy is mainly contained in the low-wavenumber range (<0.13cpm) with two sharp peaks probably corresponding to the first and second modes of internal waves, whose dependence is estimated to be less than β-2. There exist dep     

Is the small-scale turbulence an exclusive breaking product of oceanic internal waves

On the basis of the theoretical research results by the author and the literature published up to date, the analysis and the justification presented in this paper show that the breaking products of oceanic internal waves are not only turbulence, but also the fine-scale near-inertial internal waves (the oceanic reversible finestructure) for inertial waves and the internal solitary waves for internal tides respectively. It was found that the oceanic reversible finestructure may be induced by the effect of the horizontal component f (f = 2Ωcosφ) of the rotation vector on inertial waves. And a new instability of the theoretical shear and strain spectra due to the effect of f occurs at critical vertical wavenumber β c ≈ 0.1 cpm. It happens when the levels of shear and strain of the reversible finestructure are higher than those of inertial waves, which is induced by the effect of f along an "iso-potential-pycnal" of internal wave. If all breaking products of internal waves are taken into account, the average kinetic energy dissipation rate is an order of magnitude larger than the values of turbulence observed by microstructure measurements. The author’s theoretical research results are basically in agreement with those observed in IWEX, DRIFTER and PATCHEX experiments. An important impersonal fact is that on the mean temporal scale of thermohaline circulation these breaking products of internal waves exist simultaneously with turbulence. Because inertial waves are generated by winds at the surface, and internal tides are generated by strong tide-topography interactions, the analysis and justification in this paper support in principle the abyssal recipes Ⅱ:energetics of tidal and wind mixing by Munk & Wunsch in 1998, in despite of the results of microstructure measurements for the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate and the diapycnal turbulent eddy diffusivity.     

Amplification of semidiurnal internal tide observed in the outer part of Tokyo Bay

Monitoring using a thermistor array and an acoustic Doppler current profiler was carried out in the outer part of Tokyo Bay from May 20 to November 30, 2006. Current fluctuations with tidal periods were amplified during the maximum temperature period in early September. The strong current interfered with fishing operations using set nets. Although the current fluctuation was speculated to be baroclinic motion from a phase relationship among fluctuations of temperature, current and sea level, empirical orthogonal function analysis showed the dominance of a barotropic structure. Such a discrepancy in the current structure was explained by an internal tide propagating along a deep canyon in the outer part of Tokyo Bay. Furthermore, amplification of the semidiurnal internal tide and the warming of the temperature field were found to be induced by the intrusion of Kuroshio warm water. The amplification mechanism was examined using a two-dimensional model with idealized topography. It was concluded that the large amplitude of the semidiurnal internal tide is resonantly generated in the deep canyon in the outer Tokyo Bay when stratification becomes strong and the period of the internal seiche approaches the semidiurnal period.     

Characteristics of the mixing effect of small-scale internal waves in the upper layer of the Black Sea according to the data of fine-structure sounding

A method of statistical separation of fine-structure fluctuations according to their origin is applied to the analysis of the characteristics of mixing in a layer located below the summer temperature minimum in the Black Sea. The simplification of the procedure of numerical evaluation of the coefficient of vertical wave exchange enabled us to perform the comprehensive fine-structure processing of the data of regular surveys of the Black Sea with an aim to determine the spatial distribution of the field intensity of small-scale internal waves and the intensity of mixing caused by these waves in the analyzed layer. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Investigation of the electromagnetic fields induced by sea wave motion

This paper discusses a theoretical model of the electromagnetic field induced by internal waves of baric origin. Comparison of thein situ data on the differences between the horizontal electrical field potentials conditioned by internal waves in some Black Sea and tropical Atlantic areas and of the results of calculations of the model electrical field's intensity in those areas shows their good agreement. The dependences of the electromagnetic field component amplitudes on the internal waves parameters and sea-bed rock conductivity are considered. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Large amplitude, leaky, island-generated, internal waves around Palau, Micronesia

Three years of temperature data along two transects extending to 90 m depth, at Palau, Micronesia, show twice-a-day thermocline vertical displacements of commonly 50–100 m, and on one occasion 270 m. The internal wave occurred at a number of frequencies. There were a number of spectral peaks at diurnal and semi-diurnal frequencies, as well as intermediate and sub-inertial frequencies, less so at the inertial frequency. At Palau the waves generally did not travel around the island because there was no coherence between internal waves on either side of the island. The internal waves at a site 30 km offshore were out-of-phase with those on the island slopes, suggesting that the waves were generated on the island slope and then radiated away. Palau Island was thus a source of internal wave energy for the surrounding ocean. A numerical model suggests that the tidal and low-frequency currents flowing around the island form internal waves with maximum wave amplitude on the island slope and that these waves radiate away from the island. The model also suggests that the headland at the southern tip of Palau prevents the internal waves to rotate around the island. The large temperature fluctuations (commonly daily fluctuations ≈10 °C, peaking at 20 °C) appear responsible for generating a thermal stress responsible for a biologically depauperate biological community on the island slopes at depths between 60 and 120 m depth.     

Internal Tides in the Coastal Waters of NE Arabian Sea: Observations and Simulations

Time series of temperature and salinity collected from a station in the NE Arabian Sea during March, April, May, October, and November was utilized to explain the behavior of internal tides. Analysis revealed the existence of semi-diurnal internal tides and high frequency (HF) internal waves (IW). It was observed that the amplitudes of HF IWs were determined by the degree of stratification in the thermocline. Corresponding to an increase in the density gradient in thermocline (0.016 kg/m⁴ in April to 0.14 kg/m⁴ in October), the temperature fluctuations due to internal tides increased from <0.2°C to >1.5°C, respectively. Brunt-Vaiisala frequency also showed similar variations (～10 cph to 22 cph). Within the thermocline, semi-diurnal internal tides caused fluctuations of >10m in the isotherm depths. A linear regression equation was fitted to parameterize the amplitude of HF IWs and its upper frequency limit in terms of thermocline gradient. The IW and one-dimensional models simulated the presence of internal tides and diurnal cycling in the temperature field, respectively. Coupling of these models showed improvement in the simulation of temperature.     

基于调制不稳定性的吕宋海峡内孤立波生成机理探讨

The South China Sea (SCS) is a hot spot for oceanic internal solitary waves due to many factors, such as the complexity of the terrain environment. The internal solitary waves in the northern SCS mainl...