Tracking the Tasman Sea's Hidden Tide
Every day, the ocean’s tides create massive underwater waves known as internal tides that radiate around the globe with major impacts on the ocean’s heat budget and climate.
Every day, the ocean’s tides create massive underwater waves known as internal tides that radiate around the globe with major impacts on the ocean’s heat budget and climate. Little is known about how these subsurface water movements propagate and dissipate in the open ocean, but that’s set to change during Falkor’s first expedition of 2015. Collaborators from U.S. and Australian institutions will run the first comprehensive study of the largest, most focused internal tide on the planet, which moves across the Tasman Sea each day. In the process they will amass data that will improve general understanding of the phenomenon, as well as researchers’ ability to incorporate internal tide effects accurately in climate models.
Amy Waterhouse, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The team will focus most of their work on eleven stations in the middle of the wave’s path. As data come in, researchers will be able to optimize their plan for sampling sites on the fly. That is thanks to the recent installation of the world's first ship based supercomputer on
The team will be coordinating all of this work with a concurrent expedition by a separate group aboard the Scripps ship R/V Roger Revelle
This work has global application because of that unique ‘natural laboratory’ side of the Tasman Sea. Scientists and managers will be able to use the Tasman model to dramatically improve modeling of the more complicated internal tides around the globe. This will hopefully lead to major improvements in global climate models, and better understanding of the ocean’s importance in governing climate processes.
Data Products Resulting from this Cruise
The resulting shipboard dataset is being stored at the Rolling Deck to Repository and is now available.
Cruise Related Media
Chasing Giant Tides in Australia All Things Marine Radio Show February 17, 2015
Mystery of the Underwater Waves as tall as Skyscrapers Daily Mail January 28, 2015
Watch a 1000 Foot-High-Wave Move Across The Ocean Yahoo News January 27, 2015
Giant underwater wave mystery Radio New Zealand News January 15, 2015
Massive And Mysterious Underwater Waves Off New Zealand Coast Attract Scientists International Business Times January 15, 2015
Scientists study Tasman Sea's hidden monster waves The New Zealand Herald January 9, 2015
Oceanographers study power of underwater waves off Tasmania’s east coast The Mercury January 8, 2015
International Team will Scrutinize the Ocean’s Skyscraper-High Internal Waves off Australia Scripps Institution of Oceanography January 8, 2015
Giant Underwater Waves Could Hold Secrets of Climate Forecasting and Improved Fisheries Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News January 7, 2015
Giant Deep Sea Wave in Tasman Sea Could Help Improve Climate Predictions The Guardian January 7, 2015
Huge Slow Moving Internal Waves Wreak Havoc Discovery News January 6, 2015
Schmidt Ocean Institute provides ship time aboard Falkor and the equipment required at no cost to our collaborators. Support for research related to this expedition is provided by the National Science Foundation (OCE-1434722, OCE-1129763, & 1129782).