  One of the pivotal questions in the dynamics of the oceans is related to the
cascade of mechanical energy in the abyss and its contribution to mixing. Here,
we propose internal wave attractors in the large amplitude regime as a unique
self-consistent experimental and numerical setup that models a cascade of
triadic interactions transferring energy from large-scale monochro-matic input
to multi-scale internal wave motion. We also provide signatures of a discrete
wave turbulence framework for internal waves. Finally, we show how beyond this
regime, we have a clear transition to a regime of small-scale high-vorticity
events which induce mixing. Introduction.
