A numerical study on the generation of a distinct type of nonlinear internal wave packet in the South China Sea

Abstract

A distinct type of nonlinear internal-wave packet, with the largest internal solitary wave in the middle of the packet, was regularly observed in the South China Sea during the Asian Seas International Acoustics Experiment in 2001. Data analysis shows that the occurrence of the distinct internal wave packet is closely related with the occurrence of lower-high internal tides; the internal tides are mixed in the experimental area and, thus, there is diurnal inequality between the heights of two neighboring internal tides. Modeling of internal tides and internal solitary waves in a shoaling situation suggests that this type of wave packet can be generated in the South China Sea by the large shoaling of internal solitary waves and internal tides. Both the internal solitary waves and the internal tides come from the direction of Luzon Strait. The initial large internal solitary waves contribute to the occurrence of the largest internal solitary wave in the middle of the packet and the waves behind the largest internal solitary wave, while the shoaling internal tides bring about the nonlinear internal waves in front of the largest internal solitary wave via interaction with the local shelf topography.