Solibore-induced sediment resuspension in the Faeroe-Shetland channel

Abstract

High resolution measurements of temperature and current velocity over the seabed in the Faeroe-Shetland Channel (FSC) reveal an intense internal wave train, referred to as a solibore, propagating up the continental slope. In addition to enhancing turbulent mixing, a rotor formed at the leading edge of the solibore generates sediment fluxes O(102) greater than background levels. The interaction of solibores, which appear to evolve from baroclinic bores, with the seabed and the resulting rotor provides a dominant mechanism for the upward transport of sediment over continental slopes that may counteract downward avalanching of material by gravity. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.