Coherence of Internal Tide Modulations Along the Hawaiian Ridge

Authors

Gary T. Mitchum, University of South FloridaFollow
Stephen M. Chiswell, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-15-2000

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900140

Abstract

Long time series of sea level from tide gauges along the north side of the Hawaiian Ridge and shorter series of dynamic heights inferred from inverted echo sounders moored just north of the main Hawaiian Islands are examined for evidence of internal tides at the M₂ frequency. We find that the amplitudes and phases of the M₂ tidal components have low-frequency variability, which is consistent with a superposition of an internal tide with the larger barotropic tide. Further, the low-frequency variability is correlated with low-frequency changes in the depth of the pycnocline, which suggests a simple physical mechanism to account for the low-frequency modulations in the internal tidal amplitude. These modulations are coherent for long distances along the Hawaiian Ridge, indicating a coherent generation of the internal tide that is consistent with acoustic observations in the North Pacific and with recent analyses of sea surface heights from satellite altimetry.

Rights Information

Terms of use for work posted in Scholar Commons.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 105, issue C12, p. 28653-28661

Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.

Scholar Commons Citation

Mitchum, Gary T. and Chiswell, Stephen M., "Coherence of Internal Tide Modulations Along the Hawaiian Ridge" (2000). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 48.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/48