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Near-Inertial Internal Waves and Sea Ice in the Beaufort Sea

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Title Near-Inertial Internal Waves and Sea Ice in the Beaufort Sea
Names Martini, Kim I. (creator)
Simmons, Harper L. (creator)
Stoudt, Chase A. (creator)
Hutchings, Jennifer K. (creator)
Date Issued 2014-08 (iso8601)
Note To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/phoc.
Abstract The evolution of the near-inertial internal wavefield from ice-free summertime conditions to ice-covered
wintertime conditions is examined using data from a yearlong deployment of six moorings on the Beaufort
continental slope from August 2008 to August 2009. When ice is absent, from July to October, energy is
efficiently transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean, generating near-inertial internal waves. When ice is
present, from November to June, storms also cause near-inertial oscillations in the ice and mixed layer, but
kinetic energy is weaker and oscillations are quickly damped. Damping is dependent on ice pack strength and
morphology. Decay scales are longer in early winter (November–January) when the new ice pack is weaker
and more mobile, decreasing in late winter (February–June) when the ice pack is stronger and more rigid.
Efficiency is also reduced, as comparisons of atmospheric energy available for internal wave generation to
mixed layer kinetic energies indicate that a smaller percentage of atmospheric energy is transferred to near-inertial
motions when ice concentrations are >90%. However, large kinetic energies and shears are observed
during an event on 16 December and spectral energy is elevated above Garrett–Munk levels, coinciding with
the largest energy flux predicted during the deployment. A significant amount of near-inertial energy is
episodically transferred to the internal wave band from the atmosphere even when the ocean is ice covered;
however, damping by ice and less efficient energy transfer still leads to low Arctic internal wave energy in the
near-inertial band. Increased kinetic energy below 300m when ice is forming suggests some events may
generate internal waves that radiate into the Arctic Ocean interior.
Genre Article
Topic Geographic location/entity
Identifier Martini, K. I., Simmons, H. L., Stoudt, C. A., & Hutchings, J. K. (2014). Near-Inertial Internal Waves and Sea Ice in the Beaufort Sea. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 44(8), 2212-2234. doi:10.1175/JPO-D-13-0160.1

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