TURBULENCE FROM BREAKING OF INTERNAL GRAVITY WAVES

The paper discusses small-scale turbulence resulting from the breaking of internal gravity waves. The viewpoint that these waves can grow large enough to break is adopted, even in regions of large Richardson number, provided there is a source of wave disturbances either from mountains or hills or moving frontal surfaces in the atmosphere or eddies in the turbulent boundary layers of the atmosphere or oceans. In addition, there appears to be some process which tends to create thin layers in the atmosphere and oceans with large density and velocity differences across the layers. These regions tend to break down into strong turbulence from Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. A theory is discussed which relates to the occurrence of weak, sporadic turbulence in layers of large Richardson number in which the disturbances arise from eddies at the boundaries of these layers. (Modified author abstract)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Also available in Conseil International pour L'Exploration de La Mer - Extrait des Rapports et Proces-Verbaux, v162 p13-18 1972.
• Corporate Authors:

  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

  Baltimore, MD  United States  21218
• Authors:
  • Long, R R
• Publication Date: 1972

Media Info

• Pagination: 7 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Boundary layer; Eddies; Gravity waves; Heat flow; Internal waves; Ocean waves; Turbulence; Turbulent boundary layer; Wind
• Identifier Terms: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Old TRIS Terms: Boundary layer stability; Boundary layer theory
• Subject Areas: Design; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00051232
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Contract Numbers: ESSA-E22-36-69(G), ESSA-E22-15-69(G)
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 25 1974 12:00AM