A Model of Energy and Spectral Shape for the Internal Gravity Wave Field in the Deep Sea: The Parametric IDEMIX Model

Abstract The spectral description of the energy of oceanic internal gravity waves is generally represented by the Garrett–Munk (GM) model, a function with a power-law decrease of spectral energy in wavenumber–frequency space. Besides the slopes of these power laws, the spectrum is expressed as a function of energy and a bandwidth parameter that fixes the range of vertical modes excited in the respective state. Whereas concepts have been developed and agreed upon of what processes feed the wave spectrum and what dissipates energy, there is no explanation of what shapes the spectral distribution, i.e., how the power laws come about and what sets the bandwidth. The present study develops a parametric spectral model of energy and bandwidth from the basic underlying energy balance in terms of forcing, propagation, refraction, spectral transfer, and dissipation. The model is an extension of the IDEMIX (Internal Wave Dissipation, Energy and Mixing) models where bandwidth was taken as a constant parameter. The current version of the model is restricted to single-column mode and the slopes of the spectral power laws are fixed. A coupled system of predictive equations for energy and bandwidth (for up- and downward propagating waves) results. The equations imply that bandwidth relates to energy by a power law with an exponent given by the dynamical parameters. It agrees favorably with energy, bandwidth, and slope data from previously published fits of the GM model to Argo float observations. Numerical solutions of the coupled energy–bandwidth model in stand-alone modus are presented.