The goal of this project is to understand the impact of the Gulf Stream on the horizontal and vertical distributions of internal tides and inertial oscillations in the region south of New England. An existing dataset from the Synoptic Ocean Prediction (SYNOP) experiment (1988-1990) will be reanalyzed. The Central Array of the SYNOP experiment comprised 24 inverted echo sounders and 13 tall current meter moorings collecting currents at 4 levels, plus 3 with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The SYNOP experiment was highly successful, improving the physical understanding of the mesoscale meandering of the Gulf Stream. However, the high-frequency band signals (inertial to semi-diurnal frequencies) of these data have not yet been analyzed and reported upon. The reanalysis of the SYNOP dataset provides a cost-effective opportunity to achieve the goal. The mean and shorter term distribution of internal tides and inertial oscillations will be related to the observed circulation and compare to predicted propagation paths in the Gulf Stream. Exciting preliminary evidence that internal tides, generated by strong cross-slope tidal currents associated with the Bay of Fundy tides, are blocked from crossing the Gulf Stream, and that near-inertial oscillations may be concentrated by the vorticity of the Gulf Stream, will be investigated.
Broader impact. The energy available for ocean mixing by internal tides and near-inertial oscillations are variable in space and time. The understanding gained from this study will validate model and theoretical concepts regarding the process by which they interact with currents and can be trapped or focused.
