Resonant and near-resonant internal wave triads for non-uniform stratifications. Part 2: Vertically bounded domain with mild-slope bathymetry

TL;DR

This paper derives wave amplitude equations for internal wave triads in non-uniform stratified oceans with mild-slope bathymetry, revealing how varying ocean depth affects wave interactions and energy transfer.

Contribution

It introduces a multiple-scale analysis framework for wave interactions in non-uniform stratifications with bathymetry, highlighting effects on wave growth and energy cascade mechanisms.

Findings

NLC proportional to 1/h^2, leading to faster growth over seamounts.

Triad resonance conditions are affected by stratification and bathymetry variations.

Higher-order self-interactions can facilitate energy cascade in the ocean.

Abstract

Weakly nonlinear internal wave-wave interaction is a key mechanism that cascades energy from large to small scales, leading to ocean turbulence and mixing. Oceans typically have a non-uniform density stratification profile; moreover, submarine topography leads to a spatially varying ocean depth ($h$). Under these conditions and assuming mild-slope bathymetry, we employ multiple-scale analysis to derive the wave amplitude equations for triadic- and self-interactions. The waves are assumed to have a slowly (rapidly) varying amplitude (phase) in space and time. For uniform stratifications, the horizontal wavenumber ($k$) condition for waves ($1$,$2$,$3$), given by ${k}_{(1,a)}+{k}_{(2,b)}+{k}_{(3,c)}=0$, is unaffected as $h$ is varied, where $(a,b,c)$ denote the modenumber. Moreover, the nonlinear coupling coefficients (NLC) are proportional to $1/h^2$, implying that triadic waves grow faster while travelling up a seamount. For non-uniform stratifications, triads that do not satisfy the condition $a=b=c$ may not satisfy the horizontal wavenumber condition as $h$ is varied, and unlike uniform stratification, the NLC may not decrease (increase) monotonically with increasing (decreasing) $h$. NLC, and hence wave growth rates for both triads and self-interactions, can also vary rapidly with $h$. The most unstable daughter wave combination of a triad with a mode-1 parent wave can also change for relatively small changes in $h$. We also investigate higher-order self-interactions in the presence of a monochromatic, small amplitude bathymetry; here the bathymetry behaves as a zero frequency wave. We derive the amplitude evolution equations and show that higher-order self-interactions might be a viable mechanism of energy cascade.