THEWAVENUMBER SPECTRUM OF SEA-SURFACE HEIGHT IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA: THE ROLE OF STATIONARY AND NON-STATIONARY INTERNAL TIDES

摘要

Output from a high-resolution operational ocean model is compared with along-track altimetric sea-surface height (SSH) in order to understand processes governing the wavenumber spectrum of SSH, particularly the dual roles of tidal internal waves and mesoscale variability. The Caribbean Sea is the focus of study because it contains several internal wave generation sites and a relatively homogeneous mesoscale eddy field. Tides, while small, influence the SSH spectrum slope at scales smaller than 150km, with contributions from both the stationary (phase-locked) and non-stationary internal tides. Causes and consequences of non-stationary tides are diagnosed in the model with consideration of their role in the noise budget of future wide-swath altimeter missions.