Tidally dominated flows past a three-dimensional topography: Wake vortices, turbulence, and mixing

TL;DR

This study uses large eddy simulations to analyze how tidally driven flows interact with 3D topography, revealing that wakes are hotspots for turbulence and mixing, especially during flow reversals, with significant implications for oceanic transport processes.

Contribution

It provides detailed insights into the turbulent wake dynamics and mixing processes caused by tides interacting with 3D seafloor topography, a novel focus in ocean turbulence modeling.

Findings

Wake regions exhibit high dissipation rates, especially in shear layers and vortices.

Vertical shear is the dominant contributor to dissipation.

Mixing efficiency peaks around flow reversals during the tidal cycle.

Abstract

Oceanic turbulence influences the transport and mixing of freshwater, heat, nutrients, and other biogeochemical tracers. It also has broader implications for oceanic and atmospheric circulations. Tides contribute substantially to the mechanically driven turbulent ocean mixing through the internal waves resulting from tide-topography interactions. Tidal currents also drive turbulent wakes and shear layers when the topography is 3D. The hypothesis that seamounts are the ``stirring rods'' of the ocean has motivated considerable recent interest in turbulent flow features near 3D topography. It also motivates the present LES of tidally dominated flows (tidal oscillations superposed on a weaker mean) past an idealized steep seamount. Complex interactions occur between the topography, the near wake, and previously shed vortices, especially during the tidal phases when the flow direction is reversed. The topographic wake is shown to be a hotspot for mixing, featuring large dissipation rates in the attached shear layers, hydraulic jet, recirculation region in the near wake, and peripheries of shed vortices. The majority of the observed dissipation is due to the vertical shear. Over a tidal cycle, the volume-integrated local dissipation within the wake is at least four times greater than the internal wave flux that may be dissipated elsewhere. Furthermore, normalized dissipation rates are maximized for the purely tidal setting. Within the tidal cycle, bulk mixing efficiency ($\eta$) varies substantially and is maximized at $\eta \approx 0.25$ around flow reversals.