Superharmonics of internal tides in non-uniform stratification

Abstract

Internal tides are internal gravity waves that are generated in the stratified ocean when the tide sloshes over rough seafloor topography. The mechanism by which energy cascades from the large scale internal tides to smaller scales where mixing and dissipation can act is of great importance in understanding energy pathways in the ocean and correctly parametrising climate models, but remains an open question. Here, the excitation of near-resonant superharmonics are investigated for their possible role in extracting energy from the mode-1 internal tide.