Estimating tidally driven mixing in the deep ocean
Top Cited Papers
- 7 December 2002
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Geophysical Research Letters
- Vol. 29 (23) , 21-1-21-4
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2002gl015633
Abstract
Using a parameterization for internal wave energy flux in a hydrodynamic model for the tides, we estimate the global distribution of tidal energy available for enhanced turbulent mixing. A relation for the diffusivity of vertical mixing is formulated for regions where internal tides dissipate their energy as turbulence. We assume that 30 ± 10% of the internal tide energy flux dissipates as turbulence near the site of generation, consistent with an estimate based on microstructure observations from a mid‐ocean ridge site. Enhanced levels of mixing are modeled to decay away from topography, in a manner consistent with these observations. Parameterized diffusivities are shown to resemble observed abyssal mixing rates, with estimated uncertainties comparable to standard errors associated with budget and microstructure methods.This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
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