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The Ocean in Motion pp 127–146Cite as

High-Resolution Observations of Internal Wave Turbulence in the Deep Ocean

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Abstract

An overview is presented of high-resolution temperature observations above underwater topography in the deep, generally stably stratified ocean. The Eulerian mooring technique is used by typically distributing 100 sensors over lines between 40 and 400 m long. The independent sensors sample at a rate of 1 Hz for up to one year with a precision better than 0.1 mK. This precision and sampling rate are sufficient to resolve all of the internal waves and their breaking including the large, energy containing turbulent eddies above underwater topography. Under conditions of a tight temperature-density relationship, the data are used to quantify turbulent overturns. The turbulent diapycnal mixing is important for the redistribution of nutrients, heat (to maintain the stable stratification) and the resuspension of sediment. The detailed observations show two distinctive turbulence processes that are associated with different phases of large-scale carriers (which are mainly tidal but also inertial, internal gravity waves or a sub-inertial sloshing motion): (i) highly nonlinear turbulent frontal bores during the upslope propagating phase, and (ii) Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, at some distance above the slope, during the downslope phase. While the former may be associated in part with convective turbulent overturning following Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities preceding and sharpening the bores, the latter are mainly related to shear-induced instabilities. Under weaker stratified conditions, away from boundaries, free convective mixing appears more often, but a clear inertial subrange in temperature spectra is indicative of dominant shear-induced turbulence. Turbulence is seen to increase in dissipation rate and diffusivity all the way to the bottom while stratification remains constant, which challenges the idea of a homogeneous ‘well-mixed bottom boundary layer’. With a newly developed five-lines mooring the transition is demonstrated from isotropy (full turbulence) to anisotropy (stratified turbulence/internal waves).

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Acknowledgements

I greatly thank M. Laan, L. Gostiaux, A. Cimatoribus and F. Cyr for their discussions, collaboration in design and construction of NIOZ temperature sensors. NIOZ temperature sensors has been financed in part by NWO, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Utrecht University, Den Burg, The Netherlands

    Hans van Haren

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  1. Hans van Haren
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Correspondence to Hans van Haren .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Manuel G. Velarde

  2. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    Roman Yu. Tarakanov

  3. Department of Arctic Technology, University Center in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Alexey V. Marchenko

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van Haren, H. (2018). High-Resolution Observations of Internal Wave Turbulence in the Deep Ocean. In: Velarde, M., Tarakanov, R., Marchenko, A. (eds) The Ocean in Motion. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71934-4_11

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