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Laboratory observation of internal gravity wave turbulence in a three-dimensional large-scale facility

Nicolas Lanchon1,2, Samuel Boury3,1, and Pierre-Philippe Cortet1,*

  • 1Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, FAST, 91405 Orsay, France
  • 2Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, SPEC, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 3Université Paris Cité, CNRS, MSC, 75013 Paris, France

  • *Contact author: pierre-philippe.cortet@universite-paris-saclay.fr
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 084804 – Published 28 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/71dk-9p1c

Abstract

The search for solutions to the theory of weakly nonlinear internal gravity wave turbulence is an active research topic. It is notably stimulated by the fact that this regime could drive fine-scale ocean dynamics for which the identification of a physical model could yield improved parametrizations in global oceanic models. In this context, analytical works lead to diverse predictions and the experimental observation of a regime of developed weakly nonlinear internal wave turbulence constitutes a major, still unachieved, objective of experimentalists in the field. In this study, building on recent experimental developments, we present laboratory observations of internal gravity wave turbulence in a linearly stratified fluid, performed in a large-scale three-dimensional facility allowing the forcing of long-wavelength internal waves. Our setup allows us to access large Reynolds numbers favoring the development of turbulent power-law spectra while keeping the Froude number relatively low in order to remain weakly nonlinear. As the forcing amplitude increases, the flow seems to approach a wave turbulence regime: We indeed observe the progressive construction of a continuous distribution of energy in both the frequency and wave number spaces, whereas the spatiotemporal spectra indicate that the energy remains almost exclusively carried by internal gravity waves, verifying the dispersion relation. We finally show that, as the transition to turbulence proceeds, the bicoherence spectrum of the velocity field becomes smooth over the internal wave frequency domain, taking values of the order of the Froude number. While these observations are in line with the phenomenology of weakly nonlinear wave turbulence, the power laws in k−3 we report over about a decade for the horizontal and vertical spatial energy spectra agree with the prediction that can be made from raw dimensional arguments for a strongly nonlinear so-called saturated wave turbulence. Whether these power laws could alternatively be compatible with a weakly nonlinear wave turbulence regime remains to be explored theoretically.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 084804– Published 28 August, 2025
  • Received 16 May 2025
  • Accepted 5 August 2025
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