February 4 Oliver BUHLER Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science, Department of Mathematics, New York University Vertical mixing and horizontal dispersion due to gravity waves
Theoretical and numerical results are presented on several mechanisms by which gravity waves can affect particle motion on small scales in the ocean.  This includes the vertical mixing and induced diffusivity due to wave breaking in a three-dimensional field of internal tides, the latitude-dependence of wave breaking in the abyssal ocean internal wave spectrum, and a study of horizontal particle dispersion by non-breaking random waves in the rotating shallow water system.  The latter project is a stepping stone in an on-going study of isopycnal particle dispersion due to sub-mesoscale internal waves in the ocean.