KmT, detailing layered mixing governed by internal wave breaking
In: Environmental Fluid Mechanics. Springer: London; Dordrecht; Boston. ISSN 1567-7419; e-ISSN 1573-1510, more
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| Author keywords |
High-resolution temperature observations; Mount Josephine NE-Atlantic Ocean; Non-smooth isopycnal dispersal; Small-scale Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities; Interior hydraulic jump by internal waves |
| Abstract |
The kilometer-long sub-surface mooring ‘KmT’, densely instrumented with 760 high-resolution temperature ‘T-’sensors, demonstrates details of turbulent mixing in the vicinity of a large seamount. Away from the internal wave breaking zone above the seafloor, turbulence is observed in two cases. It is found in thin layers along isopycnals providing non-smooth dispersal, as well as induced by internal wave breaking following strongly non-linear interaction as in a hydraulic jump more than 500 m above the local seafloor. Turbulence levels for these cases are relatively low and high, respectively, but always one to two orders of magnitude larger than in the ocean interior far from topography. Both cases imply the importance of underwater topography like a seamount for deep-sea turbulence. The seamount functions as a lens focusing internal waves into a turbulence-generator. |
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