Climate Process Team on Internal Wave–Driven Ocean Mixing

Jennifer A. MacKinnon Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Zhongxiang Zhao Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Caitlin B. Whalen Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Amy F. Waterhouse Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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David S. Trossman Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research, Greenbelt, and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

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Oliver M. Sun Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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Louis C. St. Laurent Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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Harper L. Simmons University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska

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Kurt Polzin Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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Robert Pinkel Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Andrew Pickering Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

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Nancy J. Norton National Center for Atmospheric Research, *Boulder, Colorado

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Jonathan D. Nash Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

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Ruth Musgrave Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Lynne M. Merchant Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Angelique V. Melet Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, and Mercator Ocean, Ramonville St. Agne, France

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Benjamin Mater Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

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Sonya Legg Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

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William G. Large National Center for Atmospheric Research, *Boulder, Colorado

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Eric Kunze Northwest Research Associates, Seattle, Washington

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Jody M. Klymak University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Markus Jochum Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Steven R. Jayne Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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Robert W. Hallberg NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey

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Stephen M. Griffies NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey

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Steve Diggs Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Gokhan Danabasoglu National Center for Atmospheric Research, *Boulder, Colorado

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Eric P. Chassignet Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

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Maarten C. Buijsman The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Division of Marine Science, John C. Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi

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Frank O. Bryan National Center for Atmospheric Research, *Boulder, Colorado

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Bruce P. Briegleb National Center for Atmospheric Research, *Boulder, Colorado

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Andrew Barna Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Brian K. Arbic Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Joseph K. Ansong Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Matthew H. Alford Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

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Open access

Abstract

Diapycnal mixing plays a primary role in the thermodynamic balance of the ocean and, consequently, in oceanic heat and carbon uptake and storage. Though observed mixing rates are on average consistent with values required by inverse models, recent attention has focused on the dramatic spatial variability, spanning several orders of magnitude, of mixing rates in both the upper and deep ocean. Away from ocean boundaries, the spatiotemporal patterns of mixing are largely driven by the geography of generation, propagation, and dissipation of internal waves, which supply much of the power for turbulent mixing. Over the last 5 years and under the auspices of U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR), a National Science Foundation (NSF)- and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-supported Climate Process Team has been engaged in developing, implementing, and testing dynamics-based parameterizations for internal wave–driven turbulent mixing in global ocean models. The work has primarily focused on turbulence 1) near sites of internal tide generation, 2) in the upper ocean related to wind-generated near inertial motions, 3) due to internal lee waves generated by low-frequency mesoscale flows over topography, and 4) at ocean margins. Here, we review recent progress, describe the tools developed, and discuss future directions.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

CURRENT AFFILIATIONS: Musgrave—Woods Hole Oceanographic Intitution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Melet—Mercator Ocean, Ramonville Saint-Agne, France

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Jennifer A. MacKinnon, jmackinnon@ucsd.edu

Abstract

Diapycnal mixing plays a primary role in the thermodynamic balance of the ocean and, consequently, in oceanic heat and carbon uptake and storage. Though observed mixing rates are on average consistent with values required by inverse models, recent attention has focused on the dramatic spatial variability, spanning several orders of magnitude, of mixing rates in both the upper and deep ocean. Away from ocean boundaries, the spatiotemporal patterns of mixing are largely driven by the geography of generation, propagation, and dissipation of internal waves, which supply much of the power for turbulent mixing. Over the last 5 years and under the auspices of U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR), a National Science Foundation (NSF)- and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-supported Climate Process Team has been engaged in developing, implementing, and testing dynamics-based parameterizations for internal wave–driven turbul