Internal solitary wave observations in the Flores Sea using the Himawari-8 geostationary satellite

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Japanese Meteorological Agency’s geostationary satellite Himawari-8/Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) images, acquired over the Flores Sea in Indonesia, observed that long internal solitary waves (ISWs) seem to be generated from the Sape Strait, which then propagates through the Java Sea, the Sumba Strait, and the Savu Sea. Shallow water wave refraction behaviour is present during the observations. These important parameters related to the ISW propagation (wavelength, soliton number, first crest length, propagation direction, and phase speed) could also be estimated using Himawari-8 images. These observational results were also compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, and the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. The geostationary satellite Himawari-8 showed great potential and was very helpful in observing the ISW propagation parameters, spatially and temporally, in the Flores Sea in detail.