| NSF Org: |
DMS Division Of Mathematical Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 3, 2004 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 3, 2007 |
| Award Number: | 0417466 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Junping Wang
jwang@nsf.gov (703)292-4488 DMS Division Of Mathematical Sciences MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2004 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2008 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $218,407.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $218,407.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2005 = $82,517.00 FY 2006 = $27,795.00 FY 2007 = $29,219.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
266 WOODS HOLE RD WOODS HOLE MA US 02543-1535 (508)289-3542 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
266 WOODS HOLE RD WOODS HOLE MA US 02543-1535 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESEARCH CMG, MATHEMATICAL GEOSCIENCES |
| Primary Program Source: |
app-0105 app-0106 app-0107 |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
The proposed effort is a synthesis of theory and observations of the
oceanic internal wavefield. The work proposed is a truly
collaborative effort: the analysis of oceanic observations to ground
truth new theoretical descriptions of internal wave dynamics. The
theoretical work proposed involves the use of a novel Hamiltonian
formalism for the internal wave field, recently developed by the
PI's. This has already been shown to include the high--frequency
component of the celebrated Garret--Munk spectrum as an exact
statistically stationary solution, as well as to account for much of
the observed spectral variability. It is proposed to develop a
selection principle, based on a combination of wave turbulence and
asymptotic analysis, to determine how each oceanic realization of this
variability is tied to the local nature of the forcing and
dissipation, as well as to the latitude dependence of the Coriolis effect.
Water in the ocean abyss is denser than water at the surface. This
density stratification permits a class of waves within the ocean
interior, called internal waves. These waves are apparent as the
distortion of density surfaces, and their wave-like properties are due
to the restoring force of gravity. Internal waves are one of the
major player in ocean dynamics, as they can propagate over big
distances, interact with each other and other major players in the
ocean, like vorticity and currents, internal waves break and mix
water. While involved in this complex dynamics, internal waves
redistribute mass, momentum, energy and tracers in the ocean.
Understanding internal waves is a key element to understanding climate
variability, especially over long time periods. The most difficult
piece of this puzzle is the interaction of internal waves. The investigators
have already contributed significantly to the understanding of
nonlinear internal wave interactions by demonstrating the existence of
an infinite family of statistically stationary solutions for the
internal wave spectrum, of which the celebrated Garrett and Munk
spectrum is a member. Now they propose to investigate whether
particular members of this infinite family are more likely than
others, as well as quantify the effects of interaction of internal
waves with other key players in the ocean. This research will be
aided by the ongoing analysis of oceanic data sets and will contribute
crucial missing components to the theory of ocean mixing, weather and,
ultimately, climate.
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