Interaction of internal waves with a horizontally inhomogeneous density field area overlying a ridge

In the context of the general linear theory, we consider the propagation of an internal tide across a frontal zone overyling an oceanic ridge. For a uniformly stratified ocean, the solution was derived using Riemann's technique. The dependences of the generated internal wave amplitudes on the stratification parameters and bottom topography were determined. We have found that wave disturbances of high intensity inside and in the neighbourhood of the ridge may be concentrated in raytype areas. An increase of the horizontal density gradient in the frontal zone results in a perceptible deformation of these areas.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Monitoring short-period internal waves in the White Sea

Widespread short-period internal wave (SPIW) activity in the White Sea has been revealed for the first time based on long-term (2009–2013) monitoring performed using satellite and in situ observations, and the statistical characteristics of these waves have been obtained. Two main regions where short-period waves constantly exist have been identified: the shelf area near the frontal zone at the boundary between the Basin and the Gorlo Strait and the shallow shelf area where the depths are about 30–50 m near Solovetskie Islands. Intense internal waves (IIWs), which are substantially nonlinear and are related to specific phases of a barotropic tide, are regularly observed near frontal zones. The wave height can reach half the sea depth and the wave periods vary from 7 to 18 min.     

Study of intensive internal waves in the shelf zone of Morocco

Conditions for generating a train of intensive internal waves and a solitary internal wave, as well as the evolution and dissipation of shelf waves have been studied using temperature measurements at six buoy moorings and an array of distributed temperature meters towed in the Morocco shelf zone. Waves of each type have been numerically simulated. The paper's focus is the generation of a baroclinic tide in a shelf zone and the occurrence of a packet of intensive internal waves on the back slope of a baroclinic wave. Besides, it studies the mechanism responsible for the generation of a solitary internal wave of soliton type. Thein situ data and the model data are matched up and shown to be consistent, in terms of quality and quantity. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Short-period internal waves in the frontal zones of non-tidal seas (the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea)

This paper reports empirical data on short-period internal waves in the Black Sea and Aegean frontal zones, collected through the use of distributed temperature sensor arrays. Peculiar features of the behaviour and propagation of the internal waves in these zones are shown. It is shown that the wavefield is anisotropic and reduction of the wave lengths diminishes during the climb up a sloping pycnocline. The energy level of the spectra of internal wave oscillations in the frontal zones of non-tidal seas was found to be lower than that relating to oceanic frontal zones.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Simulation of the impact of internal waves on the oxygen/hydrogen sulphide co-existence zone in the open part of the Black Sea

This paper focuses on the impact of periodic internal waves on the oxygen/hydrogen sulphide co-existence zone in the open Black Sea. The numerical model is based on a set of transport/diffusion equations governing the evolution of oxygen/hydrogen sulphide concentrations and considering the reaction between them. The wave velocity field is determined by solving a spectrum problem for preinertial period internal waves, using the characteristic vertical density profile for summertime. Via analysis of the model data, the influence of wave characteristics on the parameters of the O₂/H₂S co-existence zone has been assessed.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Generation of quasiinertial internal waves in the process of evolution of local perturbations in the ocean

Within the framework of a linear model of long waves in a two-layer ocean, we obtain the analytic solution of the problem of evolution of an axially symmetric initial displacement of the jump of density. In the process of adaptation of the fields, internal waves in the form of a decaying (in time) wave packet are emitted from the zone of initial perturbation. These waves are quasiinertial and their dispersion is conditioned by Earth’s rotation. We study the time evolution of the wave packet and the dependence of its characteristics on the width of the zone of initial perturbation and the depth of the jump of density. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 12–23, March–April, 2006.     

内波远距离传播演化的实验研究

为了研究内波远距离传播过程中的演化规律,本文采用图像测速法(PIV)分别对内波近场和远场的速度场进行测量。实验中同时采用两台CCD相机对实验区域进行拍摄,根据实验结果对内波能量和垂向模态结构进行计算分析。实验结果表明,在近场区域生成的内波主要表现为内波射线结构。内波射线在经过海表面反射后,其能量在空间上出现非对称结构,能量在加强区域较减弱区增加约15%。在远场,内波射线结构不再清晰,内波主要表现为低模态内波结构。内波射线在反射时能量衰减显著,损失约为50%;低模态内波可以离开内波生成源地远距离传播,传播过程中能量损失较小,在远场传播过程中(第一模态内波半波长的距离)能量损失约20%。低模态内波的传播相速度介于垂向第一模态和第二模态相速度之间。     

The effect of the earth's rotation on internal waves in the wake of a moving pressure area

Plane waves generated in a continuously stratified ocean by a steadily moving surface pressure area are studied in a linear statement with the earth's rotation taken into account. General properties of the wave process are examined. Qualitative estimates of internal wave parameters in the internal wave wake are derived for model density stratification with an isolated density gradient.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

The influence of snow viscosity on forced flexuralgravity waves in a basin with a density jump

The effect of the internal friction of snow covering floating ice on small-amplitude waves generated by a periodic-in-time source in a basin with a density jump is considered. The dependences of amplitude-phase characteristics of the wave disturbances induced by surface and internal waves on the snow viscosity coefficient, the oscillation frequency, and the depth of the source are studied.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Acoustic mode coupling by nonlinear internal wave packets in a shelfbreak front area

A computational case study of coupled-mode 400-Hz acoustic propagation over the distance 27 km on the continental shelf is presented. The mode coupling reported here is caused by lateral gradients of sound-speed within packets of nonlinear internal waves, often referred to as solitary wave packets. In a waveguide having unequal attenuation of modes, directional exchange of energy between low- and high-loss modes, via mode coupling, can become time dependent by the movement of waves and can cause temporally variable loss of acoustic energy into the bottom. Here, that bottom interaction effect is shown to be sensitive to stratification conditions, which determine waveguide properties and, in turn, determine modal attenuation coefficients. In particular, time-dependent energy loss due to the presence of moving internal wave packets is compared for waveguides with and without a frontal feature similar to that found at the shelfbreak south of New England. The mean and variability of acoustic energy level 27 km distant from a source are shown to be altered in a first order way by the presence of the frontal feature. The effects of the front are also shown to be functions of source depth.     

Reflection and diffraction of internal solitary waves by a circular island

We have investigated the reflection and diffraction of first-mode and second-mode solitary waves by an island, using a three-dimensional nonhydrostatic numerical model. The model domain consists of a circular island 15 km in diameter in an ocean 300 m deep. We use prescribed density anomalies in an initially motionless ocean to produce highly energetic internal solitary waves; their subsequent propagation is subject to island perturbations with and without the effect of earth’s rotation. In addition to reflected waves, two wave branches pass around the island and reconnect behind it. Island perturbations to the first-mode and second-mode waves are qualitatively similar, but the latter is more profound because of the longer contact time and, in the presence of earth’s rotation, the scale compatibility between Rossby radius of the second baroclinic mode and the island diameter. Without earth’s rotation, reflected and diffracted waves are symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis passing through the island center. With earth’s rotation, the current following the wave front veers to the right due to Coriolis deflection. For a westward propagating incoming wave, the deflection favors northward wave propagation in the region between the crossover point and the island, shifting the wave reconnection point behind the island northward. It also displaces the most visible part of the reflected waves to the southeast. In the presence of earth’s rotation, a second-mode incoming wave produces island-trapped internal Kelvin waves, which are visible after the passage of the wave front.     

孤立内波对过渡海域声场干涉结构的影响分析

南海北部陆坡海域是孤立内波的活跃区,孤立内波在该海域能够引起水体环境较强烈的水平不均匀性,从而影响声场干涉结构。将描述宽带声信号强度干涉条纹斜率的波导不变量视为一种分布,能更准确地分析声场的距离*频率干涉结构。本文研究了孤立内波环境下过渡海域声场的距离*频率干涉结构,依据实测孤立内波海洋环境,得到孤立内波环境下随距离变化的声速剖面,利用抛物方程方法仿真过渡海域声场干涉结构。在此基础上,利用拉东变换和傅里叶变换结合的谱值分离方法在低信噪比环境下提取波导不变量分布。分析表明孤立内波环境下过渡海域的声场类影区、类会聚区的波导不变量取值更丰富。     

分层流体中内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上透射和反射

采用边缘层理论研究了两层流体系统中内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上的透射和反射问题,提出了非线性演化方程的“初值”条件,分析了内孤立波与薄板非线性相互作用的效应。研究表明:流体层的密度比以及薄板伸入上下层的深度对于反射和透射波结构具有显著的影响,薄板伸入下层越深、密度差越小,则薄板阻碍孤立波透射的效率越高;透射波通常演化为单峰孤立波和迅速衰减的尾波,反射波演化为缓慢衰减的尾波列;对于具有小密度差的跃层结构,内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上的透射及其演化近乎是无障碍的。     

Coastal trapped waves in a two-layer ocean: Wave properties when the density interface intersects a sloping bottom

Properties of coastal trapped waves when the pycnocline intersects a sloping bottom are studied using a two-layer model which has slopes in both layers. In this system there is an infinite discrete sequence of modes, and four different sorts of waves exist: the barotropic Kelvin wave, the upper shelf wave, the lower shelf wave and the internal Kelvin-type wave. They all propagate with the coast to their right in the Northern Hemisphere. The upper and lower shelf waves are due to the topographic-effect on the upper-layer and lower-layer slopes, respectively. Their motions are dominant in the respective layers being accompanied by significant interface elevations. The properties of the upper (lower) shelf wave are almost unaffected by the existence of a lower-layer (upper-layer) slope. The motion of the internal Kelvin-type wave is confined to the region around the line where the density interface intersects the bottom slope.The modes, except that with the fastest phase speed (the barotropic Kelvin wave), are assigned mode numbers in order of descending frequency. Characteristics of Mode 1 change with wavenumber; the upper shelf wave for small wavenumbers and the internal Kelvin-type wave for large wavenumbers (high frequencies). The higher modes of Mode 2 and above can be classified into the upper and lower shelf waves.     

Analysis of the variability of hydrological characteristics of the north subpolar front using the model of frontal-trapped baroclinic Rossby waves

Solutions, termed frontal-trapped Rossby waves, have been found for the long-wave equation in a model of a two-layer fluid with the frontal boundary given in the form of an exponential function. Data from a hydrological survey of a subpolar hydrological front in the vicinity of Newfoundland are analysed. A frontal-trapped wave model is shown to describe about 40% of the dispersion of the initial seawater density field. Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Laboratory study of wave and turbulence characteristics in narrow-band irregular breaking waves

Wave elevations and water particle velocities were measured in a laboratory surf zone created by the breaking of a narrow-band irregular wave train on a 1/35 plane slope. The incident waves form wave groups that are strongly modulated. It is found that the waves that break close to the shoreline generally have larger wave-height-to-water-depth ratios before breaking than the waves that break farther offshore. After breaking, the wave-height-to-water-depth ratio for the individual waves approaches a constant value in the inner surf zone, while the standard deviation of the wave period increases as the still water depth decreases. In the outer surf zone, the distribution of the period-averaged turbulent kinetic energy is closely correlated to the initial wave heights, and has a wider variation for narrow-band waves than for broad-band waves. In the inner surf zone, the distribution of the period-averaged turbulent kinetic energy is similar for narrow-band waves and broad-band waves. It is found that the wave elevation and turbulent kinetic energy time histories for the individual waves in a wave group are qualitatively similar to those found in a spilling regular wave. The time-averaged transport of turbulent kinetic energy by the ensemble-averaged velocity and turbulence velocity under the irregular breaking waves are also consistent with the measurements obtained in regular breaking waves. The experimental results indicate that the shape of the incident wave spectrum has a significant effect on the temporal and spatial variability of wave breaking and the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy in the outer surf zone. In the inner surf zone, however, the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy is relatively insensitive to the shape of the incident wave spectrum, and the important parameters are the significant wave height and period of the incident waves, and the beach slope.     

实验室造波条件对内孤立波发展影响的直接数值模拟

内孤立波具有振幅尺度大、能量集中的特点,其引起流场和密度场的迅速变化可能对海洋工程结构物以及水下潜体造成严重威胁。因此研究不同造波条件下生成的内孤立波运动的流场特征具有重要的学术意义和实际应用价值。采用直接数值模拟方法和给定的初始密度场密度跃迁函数,对重力塌陷激发内孤立波的运动过程进行研究,探讨了不同造波条件下,激发产生的内孤立波波型、涡度、振幅和水平速度等流场特征。结果表明:(1)直接模拟数值方法能够模拟内孤立波传播过程中的密度界面波型反转现象;(2)从定性和定量的角度,证实了不稳定内孤立波传播过程中存在能量的向后传递;(3)对于相同的台阶深度(水闸两侧初始密度界面的高度差),初始涡流保持相同,但是随着上下层水深比的减小,其强度下降显著;(4)台阶深度对初始涡流的垂直结构的影响要大于上下层水深比,且台阶深度对内孤立波的振幅、水平速度的影响显著。     

内波场中水平桩柱波阻的实验研究

分析水平阻力与内波波要素的关系,采用实验室实验的方法,研究了水平桩柱与内波的相互作用,焦点是研究内波波要素与波阻之间的关系。实验中的密度分层采用典型跃层型剖面,而内波是由自行研制的造波机生成。实验结果表明,当内波的频率不变时,水平桩柱所受到的阻力随着内波的振幅增加而增加,它的量值与分层有关。对于强跃层的密度分布,当桩柱处在跃层中时,受到的水平波阻较小,而在跃层之外则受到较大的水平波阻。     

A probability distribution for depth-limited extreme wave heights in a sea state

A model for the depth-limited distribution of the highest wave in a sea state is presented. The distribution for the extreme wave height is based on a probability density function (pdf) for depth-limited wave height distribution for individual waves [Méndez, F.J., Losada, I.J., Medina, R. 2004. Transformation model of wave height distribution. Coastal Eng, Vol. 50, 97:115.] and considers the correlation between consecutive waves. The model is validated using field data showing a good representation of the extreme wave heights in the surf zone. Some important statistical wave heights are parameterized obtaining useful expressions that can be used in further calculations.