Internal lee waves in the abyssal ocean : diapycnal mixing and interactions with inertial oscillations.

• Main Author: Labreuche, Pierre
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Écoulements Géophysiques et Industriels Grenoble (LEGI), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Grenoble Alpes, Chantal Staquet, Julien Le Sommer
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: Wave-wave interactions; Diapycnal mixing; Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation; Internal lee waves; Oceanography; Wave-mean flow interactions; Intéractions onde-courant moyen; Intéractions onde-onde; Dissipation d'énergie cinétique turbulente; Mélange diapycnal; Ondes internes de relief; Océanographie; [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Antarctic; Austral; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctique*
• Online Access: https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684248; https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684248/document; https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684248/file/LABREUCHE_2015_archivage.pdf

The Southern Ocean plays a key role in global ocean circulation by connecting the major ocean basins with the intense Antarctic Circumpolar Current and as a formation region for abyssal water masses of the global ocean. Understanding the diapycnal mixing processes that link these abyssal waters to the overlying layers is essential both for ocean modelling and for predicting future climate change. In the Southern Ocean, deep reaching currents impinge on rough topography and create highly energetic internal lee waves. The dissipation of the energy of these internal lee waves is the main candidate for explaining the high mixing rates between waters of different densities observed at these latitudes. The purpose of this study is to understand the fate of the internal lee wave energy and how it affects the circulation and diapycnal mixing in the abyssal ocean. We first study the impact of internal lee waves on deep mixing with the combination of field expertise, two-dimensional non hydrostatic numerical simulations and theoretical developments. Over the range of parameters studied, an enhanced bottom turbulent kinetic energy dissipation is observed in the bottom 1000 m, typically reaching ~20 mW/m2. We further show that internal lee waves undergo non-dissipative wave-wave interactions that can be rationalized as resonant triad interactions between the bottom emitted internal lee waves, inertial oscillations and linear combinations of these two waves. We then build a three-dimensional model configuration and specific diagnostic methods that pave the way for future investigations in three dimensions. Preliminary results with the three-dimensional numerical configuration show that the meridional confinement of the topography notably reduces the emission of internal lee waves. L'Océan Austral est une zone clef pour la circulation océanique tant à cause de l'intensité du courant circumpolaire antarctique qu'en tant que région de formation des masses d'eaux abyssales de l'océan global. Pour modéliser l'océan et prévoir ...