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Internal Wave Propagation through Double Diffusive Staircases

Just a couple hundred meters below the surface of the Arctic Ocean, there is a layer of water originating from the Atlantic which is warmer than the topmost layer in contact with the sea ice above. If the heat in the Atlantic layer were to rise to the surface, all Arctic sea ice would melt within five years. One way this heat could mix vertically is from energy carried down by internal waves generated by winds blowing across the surface of the ocean. However, between the surface waters and the Atlantic layer lies a double diffusive staircase. This talk will investigate whether or not internal waves are able to transmit through these staircases.

Event series  Brewer-Wilson Seminar Series