A Numerical Study of Equatorial Waves and Wave-Induced Stirring in the Mid-Depth Atlantic Ocean

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OCE 96-33332 Chang The project will the hypothesis that mixing and Lagrangian transport due to equatorial trapped waves interacting with the western boundary may account for the equatorial chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) tongue which is observed to extend eastward at mid-depth in the Atlantic. The wave-induced mixing hypothesis will be extended in this work by emphasizing near-surface generation and vertical propagation of the Rossby and Yanai waves which are important to the mixing mechanism. A hierarchy of numerical experiments using several general circulation models will be conducted to investigate the contributions of wind forcing and shear instability to wave generation. Simulated particle trajectories will be used to investigate wave induced mixing and transport in the models, and the results will be compared to recent float tracks from the region. This work is expected to clarify the role of equatorial processes in the global thermohaline circulation.