Laboratory verification on waveform inversion of an internal solitary wave in the South China Sea

Abstract

While shoaling from deepwater in a stratified ocean, an internal solitary wave may undergo waveform inversion on a continental margin. Although many oceanographers have believed the inversion from depression to elevation may commence at the turning point where the upper and low layer equals 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 following by a horizontal plateau similar to a slope-shelf topography. Experimental results indicate that the process of waveform inversion took place after internal run-down, hydraulic jump, vortex motion and run-up on the front slope. Shoaling effect on the horizontal plateau then further dissipated wave energy.