The Origins of the Internal Wave Continuum: Wavenumber -frequency spectral diagnostics of forcing and energy transfer from new profiling platforms

智力优势：内波传播很长的距离，为在偏远地区的混合提供能量。 内波的间歇性破碎在全球海洋中产生无处不在的背景能量。 这种背景能量被认为是维持赤道海洋环流的原因。 这种全球环流将温暖的表层沃茨从赤道输送到两极，以换取寒冷的深层海水。 这种交流保持了气候，因为我们知道it.A协调检查最近大约20系泊剖面仪（MP）和系泊声学多普勒海流剖面仪（ADCP）部署在各种强迫环境将评估的参数依赖性的波数？速度、剪切和应变的频谱以及这些内波谱与混合之间的关系，如从密度翻转中诊断的那样。特别是，所观察到的宽带连续体之间的协变，近惯性峰，内部潮汐峰，混合/耗散水平将被量化，寻找春天？小潮调制的连续性水平或近惯性峰值，一个升高的连续性水平，在时间的增加风强迫，和变化的性能剪切和应变为基础的混合参数化下不同的频谱形状（超出了通常使用的度量剪切？应变比）。虽然已经对MP和ADCP记录进行了初步描述，并描述了频率和波数谱的显著特征，但通过在一项研究中考虑这一完整的令人兴奋的新数据集，存在获得额外见解的宝贵机会。这一研究项目将对模式参数化的发展具有重要意义，例如气候过程小组（CPT）正在进行的内波和混合。通过澄清不同类型的窄带内波对连续谱水平和混合速率的影响，研究人员希望缩小需要考虑的可行过程的范围，促进非波分辨数值模型的有效混合方案的发展。此外，详细考察波数的部分动机？使用深度和时间上的高分辨率测量的频谱有助于解释较粗糙的数据集，例如使用半惯性对或突发采样模式的数据集。这种测量，与剖面浮标，船舶降低仪器，和系泊，有最大的潜力，提供经济的全球范围内的内波和混合信息。这个项目将形成布赖恩钦的研究生博士学位的基础。他的论文，有助于培养海洋科学人才队伍的新成员。两位主要研究人员都积极参与研究生咨询工作，他们与华盛顿大学海洋学院有联系。将通过华盛顿大学和西雅图水族馆之间的合作努力开展教育推广活动，该水族馆定期举办社区科学活动（COSEE-CL），重点是在公共论坛上提供关于内波的基本信息和海洋混合的重要性。

Intellectual Merit: Internal waves propagate long distances to provide energy for mixing in remote locations. Intermittent breaking of internal waves generate a ubiquitous background energy throughout the global oceans. This background energy is believed to sustain the meridional ocean circulation. This global circulation transports warm surface waters from the equator to the poles, in exchange for cold, deep water. This exchange maintains the climate as we know it. A coordinated examination of approximately 20 recent moored profiler (MP) and moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployments in a variety of forcing environments will evaluate the parameter dependencies of the wavenumber?frequency spectra of velocity, shear, and strain and the relationships between these internal wave spectra and mixing, as diagnosed from density overturns. In particular, the observed co-variability among the broadband continuum, the near-inertial peak, internal tidal peaks, and mixing/dissipation levels will be quantified to look for spring?neap modulation of the continuum level or near-inertial peak, an elevated continuum level during times of increased wind forcing, and variation in the performance of shear- and strain-based mixing parameterizations under different spectral shapes (beyond the typically-used metric of shear?strain ratio). While an initial description of each of the MP and ADCP records has been made and salient features in both frequency and wavenumber spectra described, a valuable opportunity exists for gaining additional insight by considering this complete collection of exciting new datasets in a single study.Broader Impacts: This research project will have important implications for the development of model parameterizations, such as being pursued by the Climate Process Team (CPT) on Internal Waves and Mixing. By clarifying the impact of different types of narrowband internal waves on the continuum spectral level and mixing rates, the investigators hope to narrow the field of viable processes that need to be considered, facilitating the development of effective mixing schemes for non-wave-resolving numerical models. In addition, part of the motivation for a detailed examination of the wavenumber?frequency spectrum using highly-resolved measurements in depth and time is to aid the interpretation of coarser datasets, such as those using half-inertial pairs or a burst-sampling mode. Such measurements, with profiling floats, ship-lowered instrumentation, and moorings, have the greatest potential to provide economical global coverage of internal wave and mixing information. This project will form the basis for Brian Chinn's graduate Ph.D. dissertation, contributing to the training of a talented new member of the ocean science workforce. Both principal investigators are active in graduate student advising through their affiliation with the University of Washington's School of Oceanography. Educational outreach will be conducted through a cooperative effort between the University of Washington and the Seattle Aquarium, which hosts regular community science events (COSEE-CL), with an emphasis on bringing basic information on internal waves and the importance of ocean mixing to a public forum.