TRR 181 Special Seminar "On mean flow generation by internal gravity waves"

The TRR 181 seminar is held by Felix Beckebanze (Universiteit Utrecht) on November 21, 1.30 am at Universität Hamburg, Bundesstr. 53, Room 22/23.

Abstract
The stratified oceans facilitate internal waves. The generation of internal waves by tidal motion over topography and wind forcing at the surface is reasonably well understood. It is also known that internal waves cascades towards smaller spatial en shorter temporal scales, where internal wave breaking contributes to vertical mixing of the deep ocean. It remains a challenge to parameterize this internal wave-induced mixing in global circulation models. In this talk I will focus on the inverse energy cascade, i.e. from short time scales (internal wave) to long time scales (slowly evolving flow). Laboratory experiments and theoretical investigations reveal that mean flow generation by internal waves is typically negligible for well-studied two-dimensional set-ups, while it can be significant in three-dimensional configurations. Whether this inverse energy cascade matters in the oceans remains to be clearly established.