Nonlinear internal waves: how tides mix the deep ocean

Mon
02/28/2011
1:00pm
RLM 11.204
Sonya Legg
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Princeton University
Nonlinear internal waves: how tides mix the deep ocean
 
Tidal flow over topography in a density-stratified ocean leads to the 
generation of internal waves. When these internal waves break, mixing of 
heat and salt can occur which may play a role in the large-scale ocean 
overturning circulation. I will describe numerical simulations of the 
nonlinear processes which lead to internal wave breaking, including 
transient hydraulic jumps and parametric subharmonic instability.