Global Ocean Internal Wave Energy and Spectral Slopes from Argo Floats

Pollmann (2020) provides a global 1°x1° gridded characterization of the ocean's internal gravity wave spectrum derived from over a decade of Argo float hydrographic profiles. The dataset contains three key parameters—energy density, vertical wavenumber spectral slope, and vertical wavenumber scale—averaged into three depth bins between 300 and 2000 meters. This structured output supports research into ocean mixing, energy transfers, and the validation of theoretical wave models like Garrett-Munk.

Use Cases

• Validating and tuning parameterizations of internal wave-driven mixing in global ocean models based on observed spectral slopes and energy levels.
• Mapping spatial and vertical variations in internal wave energy to identify hotspots of ocean mixing and energy dissipation.
• Investigating the relationship between internal wave spectral characteristics (slope, scale m*) and large-scale oceanographic conditions like stratification.
• Assessing the representativeness of the canonical Garrett-Munk internal wave model against global observational data.

Strengths

• Derived from the extensive, globally distributed Argo float program, a cornerstone of the Global Ocean Observing System.
• Provides spatially explicit (1°x1° bins) and vertically resolved (three depth bins) estimates of key internal wave parameters.
• Methodology is peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Physical Oceanography, with clear citation guidelines.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and last update date are unavailable across all source listings.
• Data is spatially and vertically binned (averaged), which may obscure finer-scale variability and processes.
• The temporal coverage of the underlying Argo profiles is not explicitly stated, limiting analysis of trends or seasonality.

Provenance

Source

International Argo Program hydrographic profiles, processed as per Pollmann (2020).

Collection Method

Parameters estimated by fitting the Garrett-Munk model shape function to strain spectra from Argo float profiles using the finestructure method.

Geography

Global ocean coverage, binned into 1° latitude by 1° longitude grid cells.