Dept. of Geosciences Colloquium: From wave turbulence to ocean mixing: observations and theory of the forward energy cascade

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/87073901428?pwd=Zay3aB8aBEigEH9SC4iEU9pByK9FCN.1

Abstract:

The term ocean waves typically evokes images of surface waves shaking ships during storms in the open ocean, or breaking rhythmically near the shore. Yet much of the ocean wave action takes place underneath the surface, and consists of modulations not of the air-water interface, but of invisible surfaces of constant density. Such waves are called internal waves. These internal waves are a fascinating phenomenon, ubiquitous in the ocean, and characterized by the oscillation of the invisible surfaces of constant densities of a stratified water column.

Internal waves play a crucial role in the energy budget of the ocean. They provide one of the effective mechanisms for transferring energy through the internal gravity wave continuum from internal wave energy sources (e.g., wind, tides, and lee waves) to the finescales of ten meters or so, where the internal waves break and generate isotropic turbulence, thus contributing to dissipation of the ocean kinetic energy.

In this talk I will show how to build the wave turbulence of the internal waves in the ocean, and how to describe the spectral energy density of internal waves and the direct cascade of energy towards wave breaking.

I will describe the observations of internal waves in the ocean and the Theorem which allows us to explicitly calculate the flux of energy in the internal waves towards wave breaking.
 

Event Organizer: Dr. Ariel Lellouch