Response of Near-Inertial Shear to Wind Stress Curl and Sea Level

Near-inertial waves (NIWs) contain a pronounced portion of shear energy in the internal wave field and is of great importance to deep ocean mixing. However, accurate simulation of NIWs remains a challenge. Here we analyzed 3-year long mooring observation of velocity profiles over 80–800 m to study the responses of near-inertial downward shear to varying wind stress curls and sea level anomalies (SLAs). It is demonstrated that moderate (even weak) cyclone makes more contributions to enhanced shear below the pycnocline than very strong cyclone. Because very strong curl can stall the downward propagation of large shear. The large positive and negative SLAs cause the accumulation of large shear in the lower and upper parts of the pycnocline through inducing downwelling and upwelling motions, respectively. Time variation of near-inertial shear was strongly influenced by cases of large curls and interannual variation of SLA, and thus did not follow the seasonal variation of wind stress. Our analyses suggest that matched fields of wind stress curl and SLA, and well representing the ocean response to moderate cyclone are needed in simulating the role of NIWs on mixing.