Simulation of wind-induced near-inertial oscillations in a mixed layer near the east coast of Korea in the East/Japan Sea

Using a simple damped slab model, it was possible to show that a local wind induced 88% （15 of 17） of the near-inertial oscillations （NIO） observed in the mixed layer near the east coast of Korea from 1999 to 2004. The model, however, overestimated the energy level in about two-thirds of the simulated cases, because the slab model was forced with winds whose characteristic period was shorter than the damping time scale of the model at 1.5 d. At the observation site, due to typhoons and orographic effects, high-frequency wind forcing is quite common, as is the overestimation of the energy level in the slab model results. In short, a simple slab model with a damping time-scale of about 1.5 d would be enough to show that the local wind was the main energy source of the near-inertial energy in this area, but the model could not be used to accurately estimate the amount of the work done by the wind to the mixed layer.

Upper ocean near-inertial response to 1998 Typhoon Faith in the South China Sea

During the South China Sea acquisition system （ATLAS） monsoon experiment （SCSMEX）, three autonomous temperature line buoys with acoustic Doppler in the South China Sea to measure temperature, salinity current profiler （ADCP） were moored and current velocity. Typhoon Faith passed through about 250 km south to one of the mooring buoys located at 12~58.5~N, 114~24.5rE from December 11 to 14, 1998. The data analysis indicates that the typhoon winds induce a great increase in the kinetic energy at near-inertial frequencies with two maxima in the mixed layer and thermocline. The near-inertial oscillations were observed at the upper 270 m in the wake of Typhoon Faith. The oscillations were originally excited in the sea surface layer and propagated downward. The amplitudes of the oscillations decrease with depth except in the thermocline. The near-inertial oscillation signals are also remarkable in temperature and salinity fields.

Near-inertial waves in the wake of 2011 Typhoon Nesat in the northern South China Sea

In September 2011, Typhoon Nesat passed over a moored array of instruments recording current and temperature in the northern South China Sea（SCS）. A wake of baroclinic near-inertial waves（NIWs） commenced after Nesat passed the array. The associated near-inertial currents are surface-intensified and clockwise-polarized. The vertical range of NIWs reached 300 m, where the vertical range is defined as the maximum depth of the horizontal near-inertial velocity 5 cm/s. The current oscillations have a frequency of 0.709 9 cycles per day（cpd）, which is 0.025 f higher than the local inertial frequency. The NIWs have an e-folding time-scale of 10 d based on the evolution of the near-inertial kinetic energy. The depth-leading phase of near-inertial currents indicates downward group velocity and energy flux. The estimated vertical phase velocity and group velocity are 0.27 and 0.08 cm/s respectively, corresponding to a vertical wavelength of 329 m. A spectral analysis reveals that NIWs act as a crucial process to redistribute the energy injected by Typhoon Nesat. A normal mode and an empirical orthogonal function analysis indicate that the second mode has a dominant variance contribution of 81%, and the corresponding horizontal phase velocity and wavelength are 3.50 m/s and 420 km respectively. The remarkable large horizontal phase velocity is relevant to the rotation of the earth, and a quantitative analysis suggests that the phase velocity of the NIWs with a blue-shift of 0.025 f overwhelms that of internal gravity waves by a factor of 4.6.

Features of near-inertial motions observed on the northern South China Sea shelf during the passage of two typhoons

Features of near-inertial motions on the shelf （60 m deep） of the northern South China Sea were observed under the passage of two typhoons during the summer of 2009. There are two peaks in spectra at both sub-inertial and super-inertial frequencies. The super-inertial energy maximizes near the surface, while the sub-inertial energy maximizes at a deeper layer of 15 m. The sub-inertial shift of frequency is induced by the negative background vorticity. The super-inertial shift is probably attributed to the near-inertial wave propagating from higher latitudes. The near-inertial currents exhibit a two-layer pattern being separated at mid-depth （25-30 m）, with the phase in the upper layer being nearly opposite to that in the lower layer. The vertical propagation of phase implies that the near-inertial energy is not dominantly downward. The upward flux of the near-inertial energy is more evident at the surface layer （〈17 m）. There exist two boundaries at 17 and 40 rn, where the near-inertial energy is reflected upward and downward. The near-inertial motion is intermittent and can reach a peak of as much as 30 cm/s. The passage of Typhoon Nangka generates an intensive near-inertial event, but Typhoon Linfa does not. This difference is attributed to the relative moor- ing locations, which is on the right hand side of Nangka＇s path （leading to a wind pattern rotating clockwise with time） and is on the left hand side of Linfa＇s path （leading to a wind pattern rotating anti-clockwise with time）.

Observation of interactions between internal tides and near-inertial waves after typhoon passage in the northern South China Sea

During the observational period of our study, Typhoon Hagupit passed over the mooring site and induced strong near-inertial waves （NIWs）, which provided an opportunity to investigate the interactions between internal tides （ITs） and NIWs. Based on the mooring data, we compared the current spectra during the typhoon period and non-typhoon period in the northern South China Sea, and found that the high- frequency waves （fD1 and fD2） were evident during the former. Moreover, the observations of the current revealed that fD1 and fD2 occurred near the depth of strong vertical shear in the NlWs. In order to confirm the generation mechanism of fD1 and fD2, we compared the positions of strong vertical shear in the NIWs and strong vertical velocity in the ITs. It was established that the vertical shear of the horizontal current of the NIWs and the vertical current of the ITs contributed to the generation of fDt and fD2.

Comparison of typhoon-induced near-inertial oscillations in shear flow in the northern South China Sea

With moorings equipped with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers （ADCP） in the northern South China Sea （SCS） in 2008 and 2009, we observed three near-inertial oscillation （NIO） events coded 2008a, 2009a and 2009b induced by passages of typhoons or tropical storms. This study compares characteristics of the three NIO events. Event 2008a was the strongest one among the three, and had the longest sustaining period （15 d）, while events 2009a and 2009b sustained for only 4 and 8 d, respectively. The three events were distinguished by vertical energy distribution and phase propagation. As for the frequency shift of the NIO, event 2008a had a peak frequency lower than the local Coriolis frequency （red-shift）, while events 2009a and 2009b showed blue-shift. The behavior of individual NIO event is jointly decided by the typhoon disturbance and the background ocean condition. Especially the background flow plays an important role by effects of advection and modulation. The results in this study provide observational evidence of variational NIO response to background flow field. As indicated by the distribution of vorticity and effective Coriolis frequency derived from numerical modeling, the large amplitude and elongated sustaining period of event 2008a were attributed to the waveguide effect of the background shear flow. This effect redistributed the NIO energy after the typhoon passage, absorbed incident waves and trapped energy in the area of the negative vorticity. While the background flow during events 2009a and 2009b did not have such effects due to the near-zero vorticity in the mooring area.

Dynamic features of near-inertial oscillations in the Northwestern Pacific derived from mooring observations from^2015 to 2018

Near-inertial oscillation is an important physical process transferring surface wind energy into deep ocean.We investigated the near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE)variability using acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements from a mooring array deployed in the tropical western Pacific Ocean along 130°E at 8.5°N,11°N,12.6°N,15°N,and 17.5°N from September 2015 to January 2018.Spatial features,decay timescales,and significant seasonal variability of the observed NIKE were described.At the mooring sites of 17.5°N,15°N,and 12.6°N,the NIKE peaks occurred in boreal autumn and the NIKE troughs were observed in boreal spring.By contrast,the NIKE at 11°N and 8.5°N showed peaks in winter and troughs in summer.Tropical cyclones and strong wind events played an important role in the emergence of high-NIKE events and explained the seasonality and latitudinal characteristics of the observed NIKE.

Observation of Near-Inertial Internal Waves on the Continental Slope in the Northwestern South China Sea

Based on nearly 3 months of moored acoustic Doppler current profiler records on the continental slope in the northwestern South China Sea(SCS) in 2006,this study examines temporal and vertical characteristics of near-inertial internal waves(NIW).Rotary frequency spectrum indicates that motions in the near-inertial frequency are strongly polarized,with clockwise(CW) energy exceeding counterclockwise(CCW) by about a factor of 10.Wavelet analysis exhibits an energy peak exceeding the 95% confidence level at the frequency of local inertial during the passage of typhoon Xangsane(24 September to 4 October).This elevated near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE) event possesses about a 4 days delay correlation with the time integral of energy flux induced by typhoon,indicating an energy source of wind.Further analysis shows that the upward phase velocity of this event is 3.8 m h^(-1)approximately,corresponding to a vertical wavelength of about 125 m if not taking the redshift of local inertial frequency into account.Rotary vertical wavenumber spectrum exhibits the dominance of clockwise-with-depth energy,indicating downward energy propagation and implying a surface energy source.Dynamical modes suggest that mode 1 plays a dominant role at the growth stage of NIW,whereas major contribution is from higher modes during the penetration of NIKE into the ocean interior.

Observed near-inertial waves in the wake of Typhoon Hagupit in the northern South China Sea

Energetic near-inertial internal waves （NlWs） were observed on the continental slope of the northern South China Sea in September 2008. Characteristics of the observed near-inertial waves were examined based on current data recorded by a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler. Results of a simple slab model indicated that the NIWs were generated by the surface winds of Typhoon Hagupit. Following Hagupit＇s passage, the wave field was dominated by baroclinic NIWs. The near-inertial currents were surface-intensified with a maximum of 0.52 m/s but still reached 0.1 m/s at the depth of 210 m. Moreover, the near-inertial currents were clockwise-polarized and slightly elliptical. A depth-leading phase of the near- inertial currents was evident, which indicated downward energy propagation. However, the rotary vertical wavenumber spectra suggested that upward energy propagation also existed, which was consistent previous theoretical study. The frequency of the NIWs, modified by the positive background vorticity, was 0.714 2 cycles per day, which was 0.02f0 higher than the local inertial frequency （f0）. The near-inertial kinetic energy evolved exponentially and had an e-folding timescale of about 3 days. The vertical phase and group velocity were estimated to be 10 and 2.1 m/h, respectively, corresponding to a vertical wavelength of 340 m. The NlWs were dominated by the second mode with a variance contribution of 〉50%, followed by the third mode, while the first mode was insignificant.

The spatiotemporal variation of the wind-induced near-inertial energy flux in the mixed layer of the South China Sea

On the basis of the QSCAT/NCEP blended wind data and simple ocean data assimilation （SODA）, the wind-induced near-inertial energy flux （NIEF） in the mixed layer of the South China Sea （SCS） is estimated by a slab model, and the model results are verified by observational data near the Xisha Islands in the SCS. Then, the spatial and temporal variations of the NIEF in the SCS are analyzed. It is found that, the monthly mean NIEF exhibits obvious spatial and temporal variabilities, i.e., it is large west of Luzon Island all the year, east of the Indo-China Peninsula all the year except in spring, and in the northern SCS from May to Septem- ber. The large monthly mean NIEF in the first two zones may be affected by the large local wind stress curl whilst that in the last zone is probably due to the shallow mixed layer depth. Moreover, the monthly mean NIEF is relatively large in summer and autumn due to the passage of typhoons. The spatial mean NIEF in the mixed layer of the SCS is estimated to be about 1.25 mW/m2 and the total wind energy input from wind is approximately 4.4 GW. Furthermore, the interannual variability of the spatial monthly mean NIEF and the Nifio3.4 index are negatively correlated.

Modified parameterization for near-inertial waves

The near-inertial waves(NIWs)are important for energy cascade in the ocean.They are usually significantly reinforced by strong winds,such as typhoon.Due to relatively coarse resolutions in contemporary climate models,NIWs and associated ocean mixing need to be parameterized.In this study,a parameterization for NIWs proposed by Jochum in 2013(J13 scheme),which has been widely used,is compared with the observations in the South China Sea,and the observations are treated as model outputs.Under normal conditions,the J13 scheme performs well.However,there are noticeable discrepancies between the J13 scheme and observations during typhoon.During Typhoon Kalmaegi in 2014,the inferred value of the boundary layer is deeper in the J13 scheme due to the weak near-inertial velocity shear in the vertical.After typhoon,the spreading of NIWs beneath the upper boundary layer is much faster than the theoretical prediction of inertial gravity waves,and this fast process is not rendered well by the J13 scheme.In addition,below the boundary layer,NIWs and associated diapycnal mixing last longer than the direct impacts of typhoon on the sea surface.Since the energy dissipation and diapycnal mixing below the boundary layer are bounded to the surface winds in the J13 scheme,the prolonged influences of typhoon via NIWs in the ocean interior are missing in this scheme.Based on current examination,modifications to the J13 scheme are proposed,and the modified version can reduce the discrepancies in the temporal and vertical structures of diapycnal mixing.

Theoretical analysis of equatorial near-inertial solitary waves under complete Coriolis parameters

An investigation of equatorial near-inertial wave dynamics under complete Coriolis parameters is performed in this paper.Starting from the basic model equations of oceanic motions,a Korteweg de Vries equation is derived to simulate the evolution of equatorial nonlinear near-inertial waves by using methods of scaling analysis and perturbation expansions under the equatorial beta plane approximation.Theoretical dynamic analysis is finished based on the obtained Korteweg de Vries equation,and the results show that the horizontal component of Coriolis parameters is of great importance to the propagation of equatorial nonlinear near-inertial solitary waves by modifying its dispersion relation and by interacting with the basic background flow.

Seasonal variability of the wind-generated near-inertial energy flux in the South China Sea

After validated by the in-situ observation, the slab model is used to study the wind-generated near-inertial energy flux(NIEF) in the South China Sea(SCS) based on satellite-observed wind data, and its dependence on calculation methods and threshold criteria of the mixed layer depth(MLD) is investigated. Results illustrate that the total amount of NIEF in the SCS could be doubled if different threshold criteria of MLD are adopted. The NIEF calculated by the iteration and spectral solutions can lead to a discrepancy of 2.5 GW(1 GW=1×109 W). Results also indicate that the NIEF exhibits spatial and temporal variations, which are significant in the boreal autumn,and in the southern part of the SCS. Typhoons are an important generator of NIEF in the SCS, which could account for approximately 30% of the annual mean NIEF. In addition, deepening of the MLD due to strong winds could lead to a decrease of NIEF by approximately by 10%. We re-estimate the annual mean NIEF in the SCS,which is(10±4) GW and much larger than those reported in previous studies.

Dynamical features of near-inertial motions in global ocean based on the GDP dataset from 2000 to 2019

Based on the latest oceanic surface drifter dataset from the global drifter program during 2000–2019,this study investigated the global variation of relative frequency shift(RFS),near-inertial energy(NIE)and inverse excess bandwidth(IEB)of near-inertial motions,and analyzed their relations with oceanic mesoscale dynamics,relative vorticity and strain.Compared with previous works,we have some new findings in this study:(1)the RFS was high with negative values in some regions in which we found a significant blue shift of the RFS in the equatorward of 30°N(S)and from 50°N to 60°N in the Pacific,and a red shift in the western boundary currents and their extension regions,the North Atlantic and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current regions;(2)more peak values of the NIE were found in global regions like the South Indian Ocean,the Luzon Strait and some areas of the South Ocean;(3)the global distribution of the IEB were characterized by clear zonal bands and affected by vorticity and wind field;(4)the RFS was elevated as the absolute value of the gradient of vorticity increased,the IEB did not depend on the gradient of vorticity,and the eddy kinetic energy(EKE)weakened with the decrease of the absolute value of RFS;(5)the NIE decreased with increasing absolute value of the relative vorticity and the gradient of vorticity,but it increased with increasing strain and EKE when EKE was larger than 0.0032 m2/s2.

Estimate of contribution of near-inertial waves to the velocity shear in the Bay of Bengal based on mooring observations from2013 to 2014

Near-inertial motions contribute most of the velocity shear in the upper ocean.In the Bay of Bengal(BoB),the annual-mean energy flux from the wind to near-inertial motions in the mixed layer in 2013 is dominated by tropical cyclone(TC)processes.However,due to the lack of long-term observations of velocity profiles,our knowledge about interior near-inertial waves(NIWs)as well as their shear features is limited.In this study,we quantified the contribution of NIWs to shear by integrating the wavenumber-frequency spectra estimated from velocity profiles in the upper layers(40-440 m)of the southern Bo B from April 2013 to May 2014.It is shown that the annual-mean proportion of near-inertial shear out of the total is approximately 50%,and the high contribution is mainly due to the enhancement of the TC processes during which the near-inertial shear accounts for nearly 80%of the total.In the steady monsoon seasons,the near-inertial shear is dominant to or at least comparable with the subinertial shear.The contribution of NIWs to the total shear is lower during the summer monsoon than during the winter monsoon owing to more active mesoscale eddies and higher subinertial shear during the summer monsoon.The Doppler shifting of the M_(2)internal tide has little effect on the main results since the proportion of shear from the tidal motions is much lower than that from the near-inertial and subinertial motions.

The near-inertial waves observed east of the Philippines

Based on mooring observations from Aug.1,2016 to Dec.14,2017,the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of near-inertial waves(NIWs)observed east of the Philippines were studied.Three strong NIW events were investigated in detail.The NIWs in EventⅠwere induced by typhoon Lan and had the strongest magnitudes of 0.35 m/s.The maximum near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE)was shown at the ocean surface.The NIW in EventⅡwas stimulated by a moderate cyclonic wind with the extreme NIKE located at about 110-m depth.The existence of a cyclonic eddy during EventsⅠandⅡled to a blue shift of near-inertial frequencies.For EventⅢ,the surface near-inertial signals were also induced by local weak wind,whereas the real generation mechanisms for the subsurface NIWs remain unclear.In particular,during EventⅢ,there was a nonlinear wave-wave interaction between NIWs and semidiurnal(D)tides,which further induced strong D±f waves.Overall,the NIWs in the three events exhibited distinct vertical structures.The NIWs in EventsⅠandⅡwere dominated by lower mode s with elevated NIKE well confined to the upper 250 m and 270 m,respectively.In contrast,the NIW EventⅢwas dominated by higher modes and the NIWs penetrated downward beyond 360 m.Such deep penetration of NIWs could be attributed to the weak wind stress curl and positive sea level anomalies associated with an anticyclonic eddy.In addition,the three NIW events had e-folding timescales of less than 7 days.

The characteristics of spontaneous near-inertial wave generation from an anticyclonic mesoscale eddy

The generation and propagation characteristics of near-inertial waves(NIWs)generated spontaneously from a quasi-geostrophic anticyclonic mesoscale eddy in a rotating and stratifi ed fl uid were investigated by three-dimensional numerical modeling.NIWs are generated over a long time interval as a forced response to balanced baroclinic mesoscale eddies.For such eddies,NIW generation from balanced flow is an inevitable result as the evolution of eddies.Moreover,the baroclinicity of mesoscale eddies is an essential condition for this NIW generation mechanism.The spontaneously generated NIWs radiate horizontally toward the eddy center and propagate upward in vertical direction.The forcing of the NIWs moves downward along the eddy axis from the location of maximum temperature anomaly of the mesoscale eddy.The moving speed of the forcing is independent on the balanced mesoscale eddies but is determined by the ratio of buoyancy to inertial frequency.When the forcing reaches the bottom of the mesoscale eddy,the spontaneous NIW generation process terminates.NIW intensity in this spontaneous generation process is strengthened with the increase of the Rossby and Froude numbers.Further research to gain a solid understanding of the role of the Rossby and Froude numbers is necessary for the parameterization of spontaneous NIW generation from quasi-geostrophic mesoscale eddies in general circulation model.

Tropical storm-forced near-inertial energy dissipation in the southeast continental shelf region of Hainan Island

Near-inertial motion is an important dynamic process in the upper ocean and plays a significant role in mass, heat, and energy transport across the thermocline. In this study, the dissipation of wind-induced near-inertial energy in the thermocline is investigated by using observation data collected in July and August 2005 during the tropical storm Washi by a moored system at(19°35′N, 112°E) in the continental shelf region off Hainan Island. In the observation period, the near-inertial part dominated the observed ocean kinetic energy and about 80% of the near-inertial energy dissipated in the upper layer. Extremely strong turbulent mixing induced by near-inertial wave was observed in the thermocline, where the turbulent energy dissipation rate increased by two orders of magnitude above the background level. It is found that the energy loss of near-inertial waves in the thermocline is mainly in the large-scales. This is different from the previous hypothesis based on "Kolmogorov cascade" turbulence theory that the kinetic energy is dissipated mainly by small-scale motions.

Upper ocean near-inertial response to the passage of two sequential typhoons in the northwestern South China Sea

Fifty-seven days of moored current records are examined, focusing on the sequential passage of Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae separated by 5 days in the northwestern South China Sea. Both typhoons generated strong near-inertial waves(NIW) as detected by a moored array, with the near-inertial velocity to the right of the typhoon path significantly larger than to the left. The estimated vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat are 0.2 cm s^(-1) and 0.85 m h^(-1), respectively,corresponding to a vertical wavelength of 350 m. Both the vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nalgae are lower than those of Typhoon Nesat, with the corresponding vertical wavelength only one-half that of Nesat. The threshold values of induced near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE) of 5 J m^(-3) reach water depths of 300 and 200 m for Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae, respectively, illustrating that the NIKE induced by Typhoon Nesat dissipated less with depth. Obvious blueshifts in the induced NIW frequencies are also detected. The frequency of NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat significantly increases at water depths of 100–150 m because of Doppler shifting, but decreases significantly at water depths of 100–150 m for Nalgae because of the greater influence of the background vorticity during the passage of Typhoon Nalgae.

The fundamental characteristics of current in the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea from July to September 2003

The characteristics of current in the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea areanalyzed based on the two current data on the mooring stations during the Second National ArcticResearch Expedition of China in 2003. The tidal currents of the principal diurnal and semidiurnalellipses rotate clockwise in the upper layer, except for N_2, S_2, and Q_1 at Sta. ST. In the BeringStrait (Sta. ST), the major semi-axis of tidal current constituent M_2 is 2.9 cm/s in the upperlayer, which is much smaller than that of semi-monthly oscillation (11.8 cm/s); and the mean currentflows northwestward at the amplitude of about 20 cm/s and varies a little with depth. During thecruise, the current has significant semi-monthly oscillation at the two mooring stations. Thespectra analyses of the air pressure gradient and the wind stress show that there are thesemi-monthly oscillations in these two data series. The near-inertial current, approximately 4 cm/s,presents almost the same magnitude of the principal tidal currents in the Bering Strait.