Spontaneous Surface Generation and Interior Amplification of Internal Waves in a Regional-Scale Ocean Model

Recent theories, models, and observations have suggested the presence of significant spontaneous internal wave generation at density fronts near the ocean surface. Spontaneous generation is the emission of waves by unbalanced, large Rossby number flows in the absence of direct forcing. Here, spontaneous generation is investigated in a zonally reentrant channel model using parameter values typical of the Southern Ocean. The model is carefully equilibrated to obtain a steady-state wave field for which a closed energy budget is formulated. There are two main results: First, waves are spontaneously generated at sharp fronts in the top 50 m of the model. The magnitude of the energy flux to the wave field at these fronts is comparable to that from other mechanisms of wave generation. Second, the surface-generated wave field is amplified in the model interior through interaction with horizontal density gradients within the main zonal current. The magnitude of the mean-to-wave conversion in the model interior is comparable to recent observational estimates and is the dominant source of wave energy in the model, exceeding the initial spontaneous generation. This second result suggests that internal amplification of the wave field may contribute to the ocean’s internal wave energy budget at a rate commensurate with known generation mechanisms.