Numerical simulations of turbulent bursts in large amplitude internal Kelvin waves

Rotating stratified adjustment can lead to the generation of large amplitude internal Kelvin waves. We have shown that for mode-2 waves in single pycnocline stratifications, the Kelvin wave may be breaking, with a nearly trapped core coexisting with billows along the edge of the pycnocline (Deepwell & Stastna, NPG, 2018). These are particularly prominent for early times, before the Kelvin wave-Poincare wave resonance begins to compete for the leading wave’s energy. We present three-dimensional characterizations of the billows and their breakdown, including the structure of the enstrophy and viscous dissipation fields. We then outline how the vortex stretching/tilting, baroclinic and viscous terms in the budget of enstrophy evolve, and contrast these results with the literature on rotating, stratified turbulence.