Laboratory experiments on depression interfacial solitary waves over a trapezoidal obstacle with horizontal plateau

Abstract

While shoaling from deep water in a stratified ocean, an internal wave may encounter different types of submarine topography. As it travels, the wave may generate vortex motion on a slope, turbulent mixing between the upper and bottom layer, and even waveform inversion on the plateau of a slope-shelf feature. Although many oceanographers have believed that the inversion from depression to elevation may commence at the turning point where the upper and low layer are equal in depth, this phenomenon has not been fully verified in field observations or numerical schemes. In order to clarify this unique phenomenon, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted on the evolution of an interfacial solitary wave of depression across a slope followed by a horizontal plateau on slope-shelf obstacle. Experimental results indicate the length of the plateau may become a proxy to determine whether the inverted waveform could maintain its strength or be weakened swiftly, which could inflict direct impact on the ecology of the local oceanic environment. Comparison on the internal flow field is also presented in this paper to illustrate the process of waveform inversion as an internal wave propagating over a trapezoidal, triangular ridge and uniform long slope, respectively.