Idealized Numerical Modeling of Internal Wave Propagation Through Density Staircases

The Arctic Ocean contains a warm layer originating from the Atlantic Ocean below the pycnocline which has a thermohaline staircase structure that inhibits vertical mixing. If this heat were to rise to the surface, the rate of sea ice loss would increase dramatically. Wind stress and ice floes generate internal waves which can cause vertical mixing. As the ice cover in the Arctic continues to decline, it will be important to predict how these changing internal waves propagate through such stratification profiles. Here, we investigate how density staircases enhance or limit downward near-inertial wave propagation. We use direct numerical simulations to solve the Boussinesq equations of motion using spectral methods. We simulate the propagation of internal waves through a vertically stratified fluid which includes one or more steps (i.e., mixed layers). We find that we reproduce the results of laboratory experiments showing transmission and reflection of internal waves from one or two mixed layers. Further, we develop diagnostic tools to compute vertical energy fluxes of internal waves. We then extend our parameter regime to simulate the propagation of internal waves through a more realistic stratification profile tending toward that of the Arctic pycnocline.