Interpreting Observed Interactions between Near-Inertial Waves and Mesoscale Eddies

TL;DR

This study compares the Young and Ben Jelloul (YBJ) model to observations of near-inertial waves in the Northeast Atlantic, demonstrating the model's effectiveness in capturing wave evolution influenced by mesoscale eddies and identifying key physical processes involved.

Contribution

The paper validates the YBJ model against observations, showing it accurately describes NIW evolution and clarifies the roles of refraction, advection, and dispersion in wave dynamics.

Findings

YBJ model accurately captures NIW amplitude and phase evolution.

Refraction into anticyclones significantly influences NIW amplitude.

Stimulated generation contributes minimally to mesoscale kinetic energy in the region.

Abstract

The evolution of wind-generated near-inertial waves (NIWs) is known to be influenced by the mesoscale eddy field, yet it remains a challenge to disentangle the effects of this interaction in observations. Here, the model of Young and Ben Jelloul (YBJ), which describes NIW evolution in the presence of slowly evolving mesoscale eddies, is compared to observations from a mooring array in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. The model captures the evolution of both the observed NIW amplitude and phase much more accurately than a slab mixed layer model. The YBJ model allows for the identification of specific physical processes that drive the observed evolution. It reveals that differences in the NIW amplitude across the mooring array are caused by the refractive concentration of NIWs into anticyclones. Advection and wave dispersion also make important contributions to the observed wave evolution. Stimulated generation, a process by which mesoscale kinetic energy acts as a source of NIW potential energy, is estimated to be 20$\mu$W/m$^2$ in the region of the mooring array, which is two orders of magnitude smaller than the global average input to mesoscale kinetic energy and likely not an important contribution to the mesoscale kinetic energy budget in this region. Overall, the results show that the YBJ model is a quantitatively useful tool to interpret observations of NIWs.