Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific
Abstract Multisatellite altimetry and an eddy‐resolving model with tides are used to quantify the attenuation of the mode‐1 M2 internal tide as it propagates from three major sources in the North Pacific. The model is used to correct the altimetric fluxes for the nonstationary signal that altimeters...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082648 |
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| author | Matthew H. Alford Harper L. Simmons Olavo B. Marques James B. Girton |
| author_facet | Matthew H. Alford Harper L. Simmons Olavo B. Marques James B. Girton |
| author_sort | Matthew H. Alford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Multisatellite altimetry and an eddy‐resolving model with tides are used to quantify the attenuation of the mode‐1 M2 internal tide as it propagates from three major sources in the North Pacific. The model is used to correct the altimetric fluxes for the nonstationary signal that altimeters cannot detect. Because internal tides in the North Pacific are highly stationary, these corrections do not materially impact the decay rate estimates. Fluxes are integrated in wedges extending from the sources to account for interference and radial spreading. Observed attenuation rates are consistent with e‐folding scales between 750 and 3,000 km, suggesting weak dissipation rates (≤10−10 W/kg or 0.75×10−3 W/m2) compared to typical open‐ocean turbulence levels, implicating near‐inertial waves and higher‐mode internal tides in providing the balance of the dissipation in the ocean interior. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ccd458508c24dca9732687d215f9fe2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ccd458508c24dca9732687d215f9fe22025-08-20T02:09:04ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-07-0146148205821310.1029/2019GL082648Internal Tide Attenuation in the North PacificMatthew H. Alford0Harper L. Simmons1Olavo B. Marques2James B. Girton3Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USACollege of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAApplied Physics Laboratory and School of Oceanography University of Washington Seattle WA USAAbstract Multisatellite altimetry and an eddy‐resolving model with tides are used to quantify the attenuation of the mode‐1 M2 internal tide as it propagates from three major sources in the North Pacific. The model is used to correct the altimetric fluxes for the nonstationary signal that altimeters cannot detect. Because internal tides in the North Pacific are highly stationary, these corrections do not materially impact the decay rate estimates. Fluxes are integrated in wedges extending from the sources to account for interference and radial spreading. Observed attenuation rates are consistent with e‐folding scales between 750 and 3,000 km, suggesting weak dissipation rates (≤10−10 W/kg or 0.75×10−3 W/m2) compared to typical open‐ocean turbulence levels, implicating near‐inertial waves and higher‐mode internal tides in providing the balance of the dissipation in the ocean interior.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082648ocean turbulenceinternal wavesinternal tidesaltimetry |
| spellingShingle | Matthew H. Alford Harper L. Simmons Olavo B. Marques James B. Girton Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific Geophysical Research Letters ocean turbulence internal waves internal tides altimetry |
| title | Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific |
| title_full | Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific |
| title_fullStr | Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific |
| title_full_unstemmed | Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific |
| title_short | Internal Tide Attenuation in the North Pacific |
| title_sort | internal tide attenuation in the north pacific |
| topic | ocean turbulence internal waves internal tides altimetry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082648 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewhalford internaltideattenuationinthenorthpacific AT harperlsimmons internaltideattenuationinthenorthpacific AT olavobmarques internaltideattenuationinthenorthpacific AT jamesbgirton internaltideattenuationinthenorthpacific |