Observations of Parametric Subharmonic Instability of Diurnal Internal Tides in the Northwest Pacific

Based on yearlong observations from three moorings at 12 degrees, 14 degrees, and 16 degrees N in the northwest Pacific, this study presents observational evidence for the occurrence and behavior of parametric subharmonic instability (PSI) of diurnal internal tides (ITs) both in the upper and abyssal ocean around the critical latitudes (O1 IT: 13.44 degrees N; K1 IT: 14.52 degrees N), which is relatively less explored in comparison with PSI of M2 ITs. At 14 degrees N, near-inertial waves (NIWs) feature a "checkerboard" pattern with comparable upward- and downward-propagating components, while the diurnal ITs mainly feature a low-mode structure. The near-inertial kinetic energy at 14 degrees N, correlated fairly well with the diurnal KE, is the largest among three moorings. The bicoherence analysis, and a causality analysis method newly introduced here, both show statistically significant phase locking between PSI triads at 14 degrees N, while no significant signals emerge at 12 degrees and 16 degrees N. The estimated PSI energy transfer rate shows a net energy transfer from diurnal ITs to NIWs with an annual-mean value of 1.5 X 10-10 W kg -1. The highly sheared NIWs generated by PSI result in a 2-6 times larger probability of shear instability events at 14 degrees N than 12 degrees and 16 degrees N. Through swinging the local effective inertial frequency close to either O1 or K1 subharmonic frequencies, the passages of anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies both result in elevated NIWs and shear instability events by enhancing PSI efficiency. Particularly, different from the general understanding that cyclonic eddies usually expel NIWs, enhanced NIWs and instability are observed within cyclonic eddies whose relative vorticity can modify PSI efficiency.