@article{9152,
  abstract     = {Previous numerical studies of the dissipation of internal tides in idealized settings suggest the existence of a critical latitude (~29°) where dissipation is enhanced. But observations only indicate a modest enhancement at this latitude. To resolve this difference between observational and numerical results, the authors study the latitudinal dependence of internal tides’ dissipation in more realistic conditions. In particular, the ocean is not a quiescent medium; the presence of large-scale currents or mesoscale eddies can impact the propagation and dissipation of internal tides. This paper investigates the impact of a weak background mean current in numerical simulations. The authors focus on the local dissipation of high spatial mode internal waves near their generation site. The vertical profile of dissipation and its variation with latitude without the mean current are consistent with earlier studies. But adding a weak mean current has a major impact on the latitudinal distribution of dissipation. The peak at the critical latitude disappears, and the dissipation is closer to a constant, albeit with two weak peaks at ~25° and ~35° latitude. This disappearance results from the Doppler shift of the internal tides’ frequency, which hinders the nonlinear transfer of energy to small-scale secondary waves via the parametric subharmonic instability (PSI). The new two weak peaks correspond to the Doppler-shifted critical latitudes of the left- and right-propagating waves. The results are confirmed in simulations with simple sinusoidal topography. Thus, although nonlinear transfers via PSI are efficient at dissipating internal tides, the exact location of the dissipation is sensitive to large-scale oceanic conditions.},
  author       = {Richet, O. and Muller, Caroline J and Chomaz, J.-M.},
  issn         = {0022-3670},
  journal      = {Journal of Physical Oceanography},
  keywords     = {Oceanography},
  number       = {6},
  pages        = {1457--1472},
  publisher    = {American Meteorological Society},
  title        = {{Impact of a mean current on the internal tide energy dissipation at the critical latitude}},
  doi          = {10.1175/jpo-d-16-0197.1},
  volume       = {47},
  year         = {2017},
}

@article{9147,
  abstract     = {As part of an ongoing effort to develop a parameterization of wave-induced abyssal mixing, the authors derive an heuristic model for nonlinear wave breaking and energy dissipation associated with internal tides. Then the saturation and dissipation of internal tides for idealized and observed topography samples are investigated. One of the main results is that the wave-induced mixing could be more intense and more confined to the bottom than previously assumed in numerical models. Furthermore, in this model wave breaking and mixing clearly depend on the small scales of the topography below 10 km or so, which is below the current resolution of global bathymetry. This motivates the use of a statistical approach to represent the unresolved topography when addressing the role of internal tides in mixing the deep ocean.},
  author       = {Muller, Caroline J and Bühler, Oliver},
  issn         = {1520-0485},
  journal      = {Journal of Physical Oceanography},
  keywords     = {Oceanography},
  number       = {9},
  pages        = {2077--2096},
  publisher    = {American Meteorological Society},
  title        = {{Saturation of the internal tides and induced mixing in the abyssal ocean}},
  doi          = {10.1175/2009jpo4141.1},
  volume       = {39},
  year         = {2009},
}