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The propagation characteristics of near-inertial waves (NIWs) and how mesoscale and submesoscale processes affect the waves' vertical penetration are investigated using observations from a mooring array located in the northeast Atlantic. The year-long observations show that near-inertial motions are mainly generated by local wind forcing, and that they radiate equatorward and downward following several strong wind events (wind stress ≳0.5 N m−2). Observational estimates of horizontal group speed typically exceed those of vertical group speed by two orders of magnitude, consistent with predictions from the dispersion relation. Enhanced near-inertial kinetic energy and vertical shear are found only in mesoscale anticyclones with Rossby number of O(0.1). By contrast, submesoscale motions with order one Rossby number have little effect on the trapping and vertical penetration of NIWs, due to their smaller horizontal scales, shorter time scales, and confined vertical extent compared to mesoscale eddies. Key Points We provide observational evidence of downward- and equatorward-propagating near-inertial waves over a full annual cycle Enhanced near-inertial kinetic energy and vertical shear are found preferentially in regions of anticyclonic vorticity The chimney effect for near-inertial waves is very likely controlled by mesoscale, rather than submesoscale, anticyclones Plain Language Summary Near-inertial waves (NIWs) are excited mainly by variable winds at the ocean surface and can carry their energy into the ocean interior, thus playing an important role in mixing the deep ocean. However, the propagation behaviors of NIWs, and how such waves are affected by mesoscale and submesoscale processes, are still understudied, especially over periods of months to years. In this study, we examine an annual cycle of wind-generated NIWs based on moored observations in a typical open-ocean region of the northeast Atlantic. Our results show that NIWs propagate downward and equatorward following several strong wind events. Enhanced near-inertial kinetic energy and vertical shear are found preferentially in regions of anticyclonic vorticity with Rossby number of O(0.1). By contrast, submesoscale anticyclones with Rossby number of O(1) are ineffective at trapping and accelerating near-inertial motions into the ocean interior. This is due to the smaller horizontal scales, shorter time scales, and confined vertical extent of submesoscale motions compared to mesoscale eddies. Our findings highlight the major role of mesoscale anticyclones in draining NIWs from the upper ocean to the ocean interior, and have implications for detecting regions of active turbulent mixing driven by NIWs in the deep ocean.

Internal tides, generated by barotropic tides flowing over rough topography, are a primary source of energy into the internal wave field. As internal tides propagate away from generation sites, they can dephase from the equilibrium tide, becoming nonstationary. Here, we examine how low-frequency quasigeostrophic background flows scatter and dephase internal tides in the Tasman Sea. We demonstrate that a semi-idealized internal tide model [the Coupled-Mode Shallow Water model (CSW)] must include two background flow effects to replicate the in situ internal tide energy fluxes observed during the Tasmanian Internal Tide Beam Experiment (TBeam). The first effect is internal tide advection by the background flow, which strongly depends on the spatial scale of the background flow and is largest at the smaller scales resolved in the background flow model (i.e., 50–400 km). Internal tide advection is also shown to scatter internal tides from vertical mode-1 to mode-2 at a rate of about 1 mW m−2. The second effect is internal tide refraction due to background flow perturbations to the mode-1 eigenspeed. This effect primarily dephases the internal tide, attenuating stationary energy at a rate of up to 5 mW m−2. Detailed analysis of the stationary internal tide momentum and energy balances indicate that background flow effects on the stationary internal tide can be accurately parameterized using an eddy diffusivity derived from a 1D random walk model. In summary, the results identify an efficient way to model the stationary internal tide and quantify its loss of stationarity.

A reduced-physics model is employed at 1/25° to 1/100° global resolution to determine (a) if linear dynamics can reproduce the observed low-mode M2 internal tide, (b) internal-tide sensitivity to bathymetry, stratification, surface tides, and dissipation parameterizations, and (c) the amount of power transferred to the nonstationary internal tide. The simulations predict 200 GW of mode-1 internal-tide generation, consistent with a general circulation model and semianalytical theory. Mode-1 energy is sensitive to damping, but a simulation using parameterizations for wave drag and wave-mean interaction predicts 84% of satellite observed sea-surface height amplitude variance on a 1° × 1° grid. The simulation energy balance indicates that 16% of stationary mode-1 energy is scattered to modes 2-4 and negligible energy propagates onto the shelves. The remaining 84% of energy is lost through parameterizations for high-mode scattering over rough topography (54%) and wave-mean interactions that transfer energy to the nonstationary internal tide (29%).

A reduced‐physics model is employed at 1/25° to 1/100° global resolution to determine (a) if linear dynamics can reproduce the observed low‐mode M2 internal tide, (b) internal‐tide sensitivity to bathymetry, stratification, surface tides, and dissipation parameterizations, and (c) the amount of power transferred to the nonstationary internal tide. The simulations predict 200 GW of mode‐1 internal‐tide generation, consistent with a general circulation model and semianalytical theory. Mode‐1 energy is sensitive to damping, but a simulation using parameterizations for wave drag and wave‐mean interaction predicts 84% of satellite observed sea‐surface height amplitude variance on a 1° × 1° grid. The simulation energy balance indicates that 16% of stationary mode‐1 energy is scattered to modes 2–4 and negligible energy propagates onto the shelves. The remaining 84% of energy is lost through parameterizations for high‐mode scattering over rough topography (54%) and wave‐mean interactions that transfer energy to the nonstationary internal tide (29%)., Key Points Global mode‐1 internal tides are predictable from a linearized, reduced physics modelThe choice of damping parameterizations predetermines mode‐1 internal‐tide energySimulations with damping by wave drag and wave‐mean interactions largely agree with satellite data

Two extremely sharp fronts with changes in sea surface temperature >0.4°C over lateral distances of ~1 m were observed in the equatorial Pacific at 0°, 140°W and at 0.75°N, 110°W. In both cases, layers of relatively warm and fresh water extending to ~30-m depth propagated to the southwest as gravity currents. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates averaging 4.5 × 10−6 W kg−1 were measured with a microstructure profiler within the warm layer behind the leading edge of the fronts—1000 times greater than dissipation in the ambient water ahead of the fronts. From satellite images, these fronts were observed to propagate ahead of the trailing edge of a tropical instability wave (TIW) cold cusp. Results from an ocean model with 6-km grid resolution suggest that TIW fronts may release gravity currents through frontogenesis and loss of balance as the fronts approach the equator and the Coriolis parameter weakens. Sharp frontal features appear to be ubiquitous in the eastern tropical Pacific, have an influence on the distribution of biogeochemical tracers and organisms, and play a role in transferring energy out of the TIW field toward smaller scales and dissipation.

Two global ocean models ranging in horizontal resolution from 1/12° to 1/48° are used to study the space- and time-scales of sea surface height (SSH) signals associated with internal gravity waves (IGWs). Frequency-horizontal wavenumber SSH spectral densities are computed over seven regions of the world ocean from three simulations of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and two simulations of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). High-wavenumber, high-frequency SSH variance follows the predicted IGW linear dispersion curves. The realism of high-frequency motions (>0.87cpd) in the models is tested through comparison of the frequency spectral density of dynamic height variance computed from the highest resolution runs of each model (1/25° HYCOM and 1/48° MITgcm) with dynamic height variance frequency spectral density computed from 9 in-situ profiling instruments. These high-frequency motions are of particular interest because of their contributions to the small-scale SSH variability that will be observed on a global scale in the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite altimetry mission. The variance at supertidal frequencies can be comparable to the tidal and low-frequency variance for high-wavenumbers (length scales smaller than ∼50km), especially in the higher resolution simulations. In the highest resolution simulations, the high-frequency variance can be greater than the low-frequency variance at these scales.