%0 Journal Article %T Bottom Mixing Enhanced by Tropical Storm-Generated Near-Inertial Waves Entering Critical Layers in the Straits of Florida %+ Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) %+ Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS) %A Qu, Lixin %A Thomas, Leif %A Gula, Jonathan %< avec comité de lecture %@ 0094-8276 %J Geophysical Research Letters %I American Geophysical Union %V 48 %8 2021 %D 2021 %Z 2021GeoRL..4893773Q %R 10.1029/2021GL093773 %Z Sciences of the Universe [physics] %Z Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth SciencesJournal articles %X Tropical storms and hurricanes frequently pass over the Straits of Florida, energizing the near-inertial wave (NIW) field in the strait. Two ship-based surveys, which were launched shortly after storms, observed velocity shear bands over the western slope of the strait—clear signatures of NIWs. Also, the hydrographic measurements demonstrate the formation of a slantwise critical layer (where isopycnals are parallel with bathymetry) over the western slope, which is known to be a trapping zone for NIWs. A realistic simulation of the Straits confirms the emergence of NIWs under a tropical storm, which is accompanied by inertially modulated bottom-enhanced mixing over the western slope. The mechanism driving the mixing is that the storm-generated NIWs radiate downward from the core of the Florida Current, reflect off the eastern slope, and enter the slantwise critical layer over the western slope; upon entering, wave trapping, and amplification lead to the enhanced mixing. %G English %2 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683260/document %2 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683260/file/86672.pdf %L insu-03683260 %U https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683260 %~ IRD %~ INSU %~ UNIV-BREST %~ CNRS %~ IFREMER %~ IUEM %~ THESES_IUEM %~ LOPS %~ ANR