Laboratory experiments on the generation of internal waves on two kinds of continental margin

Abstract

We quantitatively study the relationship and differences between the internal waves generated on two kinds of continental margin in laboratory. Experimental results show that the steepness of the shelf break exerts a strong influence on the spatial structure of the internal waves generated on the continental margin. When the oscillatory barotropic tide flows over the continental margin with an abrupt shelf break and is not resonant with its slope, internal waves with three energy rays are generated, while on the continental margin with a gentle shelf break, only two rays can be found in the internal waves. Moreover, we compare the flux, width and kinetic energy flux of these rays and find that the phases of the internal waves generated by the interaction between the oscillatory barotropic tide and the shelf break lag behind the oscillatory barotropic tide. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.