Decay of a Near-Inertial Wave

The decay of a downward propagating near-inertial wave was observed over four days. During this short period, the energy of the near-inertial wave decreased by 70%. The shear layers produced by the wave were regions of enhanced turbulent dissipation rates. The authors estimate that 44% of the observed change in the near-inertial energy was lost to turbulence. Estimates of the wave energy lost at the survey site due to the wave propagating out of the region were smaller. Advection could account for more than half of the observed energy lost. However, the authors did not detect the near-inertial wave during a 40 km × 40 km ADCP survey after completing the six-day station. -from Authors