Modeling of Internal Tides in the Western Bay of Bengal: Characteristics and Energetics

Abstract

Generation and propagation of internal tides in the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) are investigated using observations from Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers and simulations from a very high resolution numerical ocean model. Observations show that semidiurnal internal tides in the southern and northern parts of the western BoB are more energetic during neap phase of the local barotropic tide than those during spring phase. Numerical simulations indicate that internal tides generated over the Andaman-Nicobar Ridge propagate westward for about 1,000–1,450 km across the BoB and finally impinge on the continental slopes off the east coast of India after 5–7 days. Energetic internal tides observed during the neap phase of the barotropic tides in the western BoB are mainly due to the arrival of remotely generated internal tides. We show that the variation in the onshore transmission of these remotely generated internal tides due to the topographic slope in the western BoB controls the strength of internal tide activity along the shelf. Superposition of reflected internal tides from continental slope, which are very steep in some regions and onshore propagating-waves generate partly standing waves. Numerical experiments suggest that internal tides coming from remote sources account for more than 80% of the total internal tide energy observed in the western BoB. Internal tide energy dissipation on the continental margins of the western BoB is about 3 to 4 times larger than the local generation, indicating that this region is a sink for remotely generated internal tide energy.