Wave Events Research Articles

Heat-wave associated vibriosis in Russia, 2003-2021

Objectives: Noteworthy peaks of non-cholera vibriosis occurred in Russia’s Rostov and Volgograd regions in 2007 and 2010. The origins of these emergent vibrio cases have not been fully understood. Here, we investigate a possible link between the heat wave event and disease emergence. Methods: This study employed Pearson correlation and regression analyses to identify the linkage between ambient temperature and Vibrio cases. Results: The correlation test between the mean summer air temperatures for both regions and the Vibrio-infectious cases per year, shows a significant correlation between the mean summer temperature and the infection: r= 0.62 (p=0.023) for the Rostov region and r = 0.78 (p=0.012) for the Volgograd region. Conclusion: The heat waves in the summers of 2007 and 2010 suggest having facilitated the upsurge of V. cholerae non-cholera diseases. The warming tendency has to be considered in predicting outbreaks.
 
 Keywords: Global warming, vibrio infections, Vibrio, Russia

Fast Bayesian gravitational wave parameter estimation using convolutional neural networks

ABSTRACT The determination of the physical parameters of gravitational wave events is a fundamental pillar in the analysis of the signals observed by the current ground-based interferometers. Typically, this is done using Bayesian inference approaches which, albeit very accurate, are very computationally expensive. We propose a convolutional neural network approach to perform this task. The convolutional neural network is trained using simulated signals injected in a Gaussian noise. We verify the correctness of the neural network’s output distribution and compare its estimates with the posterior distributions obtained from traditional Bayesian inference methods for some real events. The results demonstrate the ability of the convolutional neural network to produce posterior distributions that are compatible with the traditional methods. Moreover, it achieves a remarkable inference speed, lowering by orders of magnitude the times of Bayesian inference methods, enabling real-time analysis of gravitational wave signals. Despite the observed reduced accuracy in the parameters, the neural network provides valuable initial indications of key parameters of the event such as the sky location, facilitating a multimessenger approach.

Extreme heat event over Northwest China driven by Silk Road Pattern teleconnection and its possible mechanism

Under the background of global warming, heat wave events have become significantly frequent and have received increasing attention. Northwest China is located in the drylands of central Eurasia, where the climate and ecological environment are more vulnerable to global warming than in other parts of the world. Over the past few decades, the frequency of heat waves in Northwest China has increased significantly, and its causes remain unclear. We found that the heat events in Northwest China were closely related to the Silk Road Pattern teleconnection (SRP), and the strongly positive phase of SRP frequently corresponded to the occurrence of heat waves. Furthermore, the wave source of SRP was determined by the Linear baroclinic model to be located in the North Atlantic Ocean. We then selected an extreme heat event over Northwest China in 2021 as a typical case to discuss the possible mechanism. The regressed circulation fields to daily SRP were highly consistent with the anomalies that occurred during July 9–22, 2021, indicating that the diurnal propagation of SRP modulated the circulation anomaly related to the heat wave event and that diabatic heating influenced by SRP was the primary factor to the thermal low over Northwest China. Diabatic heating was strengthened in the lower troposphere due to the enhancement of downward shortwave radiation and surface sensible heat flux accompanied by strong descending motions and cloud cover reduction by an SRP-guided anticyclone over Northwest China. This study enhances the understanding and certainty regarding large-scale circulation effects on local temperature anomalies in middle latitudes.

Tsunami or storm? A high-level coastal boulder field on the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

A high-level coastal boulder field at Whalers Way, southern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, occurs at elevations of 20–30 m above present sea-level on a gently seaward-sloping, karst-weathered calcrete-capped structural bench, formed on the Upper Pleistocene Bridgewater Formation and underlying Carnot Gneisses (Archean–Paleoproterozoic Sleaford Complex). More than 1000 ex situ boulders, cobbles and pebbles of gneiss and mafic igneous rocks, as well as fragments of calcrete, occur within the boulder field and cover an area >6000 m2. All the crystalline rock clasts are derived locally from bedrock outcrops along the adjacent coastline, where metasedimentary granulite-facies of the Carnot Gneisses crop out along shore platforms and their backing cliffs, close to present sea-level. The boulder field is younger than Marine Isotope Sub-Stage 5a (MIS 5a; ca 80 ka) based on amino acid racemisation ‘whole-rock’ analyses of calcarenite of the Bridgewater Formation, which forms the calcrete bench on which the boulder field rests. The boulder field wraps around the western extremity of cliff-top dunes dated at 18–17 ka by optically stimulated luminescence, implying that the boulder deposit post-dates the formation of the cliff-top dunes. Given that the clasts in the boulder field show minimal weathering rinds, sea-level during the Last Glacial Maximum was some 125 m lower than present and that between 80 and 7 ka ago, sea-level never attained present levels within the region, emplacement of the boulder field by a high-energy wave event in the Holocene highstand, following the 7000 years BP culmination of post-Glacial sea-level rise, is suggested. Storm waves, rather than a tsunami, most likely explain the emplacement of the boulder field.

Characterization of high-frequency waves in the Martian magnetosphere

Context. Various high-frequency waves in the vicinity of upper-hybrid and Langmuir frequencies are commonly observed in different space plasma environments. Such waves and fluctuations have been reported in the magnetosphere of the Earth, a planet with an intrinsic strong magnetic field. Mars has no intrinsic magnetic field and, instead, it possesses a weak induced magnetosphere, which is highly dynamic due to direct exposure to the solar wind. In the present paper, we investigate the presence of high-frequency plasma waves in the Martian plasma environment by making use of the high-resolution electric field data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution missioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. Aims. This study aims to provide conclusive observational evidence of the occurrence of high-frequency plasma waves around the electron plasma frequency in the Martian magnetosphere. We observe two distinct wave modes with frequency below and above the electron plasma frequency. The characteristics of these high-frequency waves are quantified and presented here. We discuss the generation of possible wave modes by taking into account the ambient plasma parameters in the region of observation. Methods. We have made use of the medium frequency (100 Hz–32 kHz) burst mode-calibrated electric field data from the Langmuir Probe and Waves instrument on board NASA’s MAVEN mission. Due to the weak magnetic field strength, the electron gyro-frequency is much lower than the electron plasma frequency, which implies that the upper-hybrid and Langmuir waves have comparable frequencies. A total of 19 wave events with wave activities around electron plasma frequency were identified by examining high-resolution spectrograms of the electric field. Results. These waves were observed around 5 LT when MAVEN crossed the magnetopause boundary and entered the magnetosheath region. These waves are either a broadband- or narrowband-type with distinguishable features in the frequency domain. The narrowband-type waves have spectral peak above the electron plasma frequency. However, in the case of broadband-type waves, the spectral peak always occurred below the electron plasma frequency. The broadband waves consistently show a periodic modulation of 8–14 ms. Conclusions. The high-frequency narrowband-type waves observed above the electron plasma frequency are believed to be associated with upper-hybrid or Langmuir waves. However, the physical mechanism responsible for the generation of broadband-type waves and the associated 8–14 ms modulation remain unexplained and further investigation is required.

Distinguishing Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) Waves From Other Pc1 Signatures in Satellite Recordings by Means of the Swarm Satellite Constellation

AbstractIn this study we make use of the closely spaced Swarm A and C spacecraft to determine the main wave parameters of micro‐pulsation in the Pc1 range. Generally, the interpretation of wave events in satellite recordings suffers from the spatial/temporal ambiguity of such data. To resolve that problem, we use for the first time in the 0.2–5 Hz apparent frequency range high‐resolution magnetic field data from the Swarm A/C spacecraft pair. Particularly suitable for this analysis is the period of Counter Rotating Orbit Phase in 2021. During that period the along‐track distance between the spacecraft was varied from 2 to 40 s. Surprisingly many of the wavy signals at middle latitudes were identified as small‐scale (order of 10s km) quasi‐static field‐aligned current (FAC) structures. Some of the events turned out to be medium‐scale (100–200 km) waves oscillating at 1 Hz or less. A number of published electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were checked on their consistency. One characteristic is their long wavelength (∼1,000 km). About half of the cases passed the check, the other did not satisfy the spatial homogeneity. The small‐scale FAC structures we believe to be driven by atmospheric gravity waves. While the medium‐scale waves we prefer to relate to the effects of the ionospheric Alfvén resonator.

Revealing dark matter dress of primordial black holes by cosmological lensing

Stellar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) from the early Universe can directly contribute to the gravitational wave (GW) events observed by LIGO, but can only comprise a subdominant component of the dark matter (DM). The primary DM constituent will generically form massive halos around seeding stellar-mass PBHs. We demonstrate that gravitational lensing of sources at cosmological (≳Gpc) distances can directly explore DM halo dresses engulfing PBHs, challenging for lensing of local sources in the vicinity of Milky Way. Strong lensing analysis of fast radio bursts detected by CHIME survey already starts to probe parameter space of dressed stellar-mass PBHs, and upcoming searches can efficiently explore dressed PBHs over ∼10−105M⊙ mass-range and provide a stringent test of the PBH scenario for the GW events. Our findings establish a general test for a broad class of DM models with stellar-mass PBHs, including those where QCD axions or WIMP-like particles comprise predominant DM. The results open a new route for exploring dressed PBHs with various types of lensing events at cosmological distances, such as supernovae and caustic crossings.

Observations of Extreme Waves and Wave Spectra during Hurricane Dorian (2019)

Due to the sparse distribution of buoys in the ocean, direct observations of extreme wave activity as excited by tropical cyclones (TCs) are few; but nonetheless, these buoys provide rare opportunities to learn more about how weather systems interact with the ocean wave field. In this study, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Data Buoy Center buoy observations of one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) wave spectra during the translation speed of Hurricane Dorian (2019) through the Atlantic Ocean were used to examine extreme wave events in the days before and after its September 1, 2019 landfall in The Bahamas. Observations of wave properties during storm intensification and decay showed that although significant wave height naturally rose and fell, the dominant wave period remained virtually constant. At the height of the storm, a lethal combination formed, with the highest significant wave heights being recorded at over 8 m (more than four times the mean) and dominant wave periods exceeded 12 s. Wave direction also varied widely as wave regimes shifted from wind-sea to swell, with spectral wave energy peaking at over 120 m2/Hz, six times higher than pre-Hurricane Dorian wave states. This study provides the first in situ characterization of extreme wave heights as induced by Hurricane Dorian. The study recommends that a number of observational platforms be funded, developed, and deployed throughout the Lucayan Archipelago.

PHC service resilience during COVID19 in Brazil’s Northeast

Abstract COVID19 affected health system, including its ability to care for other health issues. Health System Resilience is related to the ability of a health service to continue to offer ongoing care for health issues while under a stressor. Brazil has a public-funded unified health system with a Primary Health Care (PHC) organized by the Family Health Strategy (FHS), which comprise a family doctor, a nurse, a dentist, nurse auxiliaries and Community Health Agents (CHAs). The CHAs are individuals from the community trained to provide a range of services in the territories, including home visits, and act as liaisons between health units and communities-key informant on the reality faced in the public services during COVID19. Brazil's northeast region is one of the country's poorest regions, with poor social indicators, including low HDI and high illiteracy, utilization of Brazil's conditional cash transfer program and COVID19 mortality. This study evaluated aspects regarding the impact of COVID19 in PHC activities related to diabetes&hypertension, tuberculosis, leprae, pre-natal care, pap smear and oral health care in Brazil's northeast region public service. Questionnaires were applied to CHAs from 8 different cities - 4 capitals and 4 country-side municipalities. A total of 1935 CHAs were interviewed. The data show unequal COVID19 impact in PHC (different impact of COVID19 in the various municipalities and health care services). For 21.3% of CHW, the activities related to pre-natal care diminished during 2021 COVID19 pandemia, this percentage was 25.6%, 30.2%, 41.9%, 79.9% and 79.3% for tuberculosis, leprae, diabetes & hypertension, pap smear and oral health respectively in the PHC. The lack of a unified federal plan, due to a political misleading perspective may have negatively influenced the PHC. Understand how PHC was affected in different scenarios is important to strength the system in a more resilient manner, which is central in the event of other stressful events Key messages • There was an unequal impact of COVID19 on different PHC public services, which may be due to political tension and lack of federal guidance of the health system. • Understand how PHC was affected is important to reorganize the system in a more resilient manner, which is central in the event of another COVID19 wave or other stressful event.

Stable precipitation isotope records of cold wave events in Eurasia

As the climate warms, extreme low- and high-temperature events will become more intense, and the stable isotopes (δ2H and δ18O) in atmospheric precipitation have the potential to diagnose these extreme weather events. Based on daily-scale precipitation isotope data, this study explains the mechanism by which cold wave events affect precipitation isotopes in Eurasia. The results show that precipitation isotopes are noticeably depleted during cold wave events compared to other precipitation in the same month, which is associated with cooling and increased water vapor transport at high latitudes. The characteristics of LMWL can indicate changes in meteorological conditions during cold waves. The strengthening of the high-pressure and cold front systems makes a big difference in the increased latitudinal-variation gradient of precipitation isotopes in cold wave events. Additionally, the complicated variations in cold-wave precipitation d-excess reflect changes in the water vapor sources and the non-equilibrium fractionation process in the water vapor transport path. This study reveals the mechanism of precipitation isotope response to cold wave events, which provides a reference constraint for interpreting the paleoisotopic record accurately and reconstructing past cold wave activity.

Objective Identification Method of Cold-Front Precipitation in Winter Half Years over East Asia

Cold front is an important weather system that produces precipitation in East Asia. Under the background of global warming, extreme precipitation caused by cold fronts presents a significant increasing trend. Hence, it is very important to quantify the cold-front precipitation that may cause great damages. In this study, an objective identification method is proposed for cold-front precipitation, which can objectively identify the precipitation area affected by cold fronts. Then, the climatological characteristics and trends of cold-front precipitation over East Asia in the winter half years from 1989 to 2018 are investigated by using the ERA-5 reanalysis dataset. Based on the dataset of cold fronts and frontal zones, this method automatically distinguishes the precipitation area affected by cold fronts to quantitatively estimate cold-front precipitation. The results show that this identification method can well describe cold-front activities and associated precipitation during an extreme cold wave event that occurred in southern China in January 2016. In the past 30 years, cold fronts have significantly contributed to the precipitation in East Asia in winter half years. The areas with the maximum cold-front precipitation and maximum contribution rate of cold-front precipitation to total precipitation are located in the North Pacific storm track, cold-front precipitation exceeds 700 mm, and the contribution of cold-front precipitation to total precipitation exceeds 60%. In addition, the contribution rates of cold-front precipitation are also relatively large in the midlatitudes of East Asia, especially in North China and Northeast China, where cold-front precipitation accounts for 50%–60% of total precipitation. In East Asia, the total precipitation in autumn is greater than that in winter; however, cold-front precipitation and its contribution rate in winter are significantly more and larger than those in autumn. As the cold-frontal activity is more frequent and intense in winter, the rainfall in winter depends more on cold fronts. In the past 30 years, the trends of cold-front precipitation and total precipitation are consistent in most parts of East Asia, indicating that cold-front precipitation makes a great contribution to the trend of total precipitation in winter half years.

Landscape Assessment of North American Wave and Wind Facilities

The National Full-Scale Testing Infrastructure for Community Hardening in Extreme Wind, Surge, and Wave Events (NICHE) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure 1 project that aims to meet a critical need for full-scale testing for natural hazards resilience in the 21st century. The current project serves to establish an integrated design testbed (IDT) that will facilitate the design of the full-scale NICHE facility. This paper provides an overview of a landscape assessment of wave and wind facilities across North America that will inform the design of the physical experimentation portion of the IDT and eventual NICHE. The landscape assessment illustrates a comprehensive study of wave and wind facilities by expanding upon their research, capabilities, specifications, and equipment. In doing so, the paper intends to detail the critical need for a facility like NICHE in the nation’s research infrastructure while providing a database for wave and wind research that can promote future research and collaboration.

Kelvin‐Helmholtz Waves and Magnetic Reconnection at the Earth's Magnetopause Under Southward Interplanetary Magnetic Field

AbstractWe present Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of a K‐H wave event under southward IMF conditions, accompanied by ongoing magnetic reconnection. The nonlinear K‐H waves are characterized by quasi‐periodic fluctuations, the presence of low‐density and high‐speed ions, and variations in the boundary normal vectors at both the leading and trailing edges. Our observations reveal clear evidence of on‐going magnetic reconnection through the identification of Alfvénic ion jets and the escape of energetic magnetospheric electrons. Among the 36 magnetopause current‐sheet crossings in this event, 19 exhibit unambiguous signatures of reconnection at both the leading (7) and trailing (12) edges. Notably, the estimated current‐sheet thicknesses at both edges are comparable to the ion‐inertial scale, confirming the compression effect resulting from the large‐scale evolution of the K‐H waves. The reconnection jets potentially contribute to the suppression of K‐H growth through boundary‐layer broadening and the development of complex flow and magnetic field patterns.

Extreme heat waves in June 2021 over Europe regulated by shrinking Eurasian snow cover in mid–high latitudes

Europe has experienced many extreme heat waves over the past few decades. In this study, the physical processes underlying these long-lasting and wide-ranging heat wave events are investigated based on a case study in Europe in June 2021. Heat waves are associated with barotropic anticyclonic anomalies accompanied by positive geopotential height anomalies locally. These anomalies persist under the conditions of increased meridional air temperature gradients of the mid–upper troposphere in the high latitudes of Eurasia and the formation of the Arctic front jet. The shrinking high-latitude snow cover in April–May favors higher surface temperatures and larger meridional temperature gradients in June in the mid–upper troposphere due to the soil moisture–evaporation–temperature positive feedback process. The summer Arctic front jet is then strengthened, and the mid-latitude westerly winds are weakened. This atmospheric circulation background favors waveguide formation and wave resonance that produces high-amplitude atmospheric waves and the stagnation of ridges in the mid-latitudes. Numerical experiments using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 verify the proposed physical mechanisms, with the climatic responses in sensitivity experiments to anomalous snowfall rates closely resembling the observational results. Therefore, in June 2021, under the identified atmospheric circulation background and the perturbation of the upstream positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, the large-scale barotropic high pressure and barotropic anticyclonic circulation in the study region tended to be stable and persistent, which is favorable for the production of long-lasting and wide-ranging heat wave events.

Changes in extreme wave events in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean

The southwestern South Atlantic (SWSA) has faced several extreme events that caused coastal and ocean hazards associated with high waves. This study aimed to investigate the extreme wave climate trends in the SWSA using percentile- and storm-based approaches to determine potential coastal impacts. Changes in extreme wave event characteristics were evaluated through distribution maps and directional density distributions. Our results showed an overall increase in the 95^{th}-percentile of the significant wave height (Hs), mostly in the northern and southern portions of the domain. There was a general increase in the area affected by the events and in their lifetimes in the austral summer. In contrast, winter events had higher maximum intensities, which were not homogeneous throughout the domain. Changes in the wave power direction affected most of the analysed locations, showing a clockwise shift of summer events and a large directional spread of events from the southern quadrant (SW–SE). These changes were related to the southwards shift of the subtropical branch of the storm track, reflecting increased cyclonic activity at 30^circ S (summer) and 45^circ S (winter). These storm track shifts allowed the development of large fetches on the southern edge of the domain, promoting the propagation of long waves.

Combining chirp mass, luminosity distance, and sky localization from gravitational wave events to detect the cosmic dipole

ABSTRACT A key test of the isotropy of the Universe on large scales consists in comparing the dipole in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature with the dipole in the distribution of sources at low redshift. Current analyses find a dipole in the number counts of quasars and radio sources that is 2–5 times larger than expected from the CMB, leading to a tension reaching 5σ. In this paper, we derive a consistent framework to measure the dipole independently from gravitational wave (GW) detections. We exploit the fact that the observer velocity does not only change the distribution of events in the sky, but also the luminosity distance and redshifted chirp mass, which can be extracted from the GW waveform. We show that the estimator with higher signal-to-noise ratio is the dipole in the chirp mass measured from a population of binary neutron stars. Combining all estimators (accounting for their covariance) improves the detectability of the dipole by 30–50 per cent compared to number counting of binary black holes alone. We find that a few 106 events are necessary to detect a dipole consistent with the CMB one, whereas if the dipole is as large as predicted by radio sources, it will already be detectable with 105 events, which would correspond to a single year of observation with next-generation GW detectors. GW sources provide therefore a robust and independent way of testing the isotropy of the Universe.

Large-Scale Eddy-Mean Flow Interaction in the Earth's Extratropical Atmosphere

Large-scale circulation of the atmosphere in the Earth's extratropics is dominated by eddies, eastward (westerly) zonal winds, and their interaction. Eddies not only bring about weather variabilities but also help maintain the average state of climate. In recent years, our understanding of how large-scale eddies and mean flows interact in the extratropical atmosphere has advanced significantly due to new dynamical constraints on finite-amplitude eddies and the related eddy-free reference state. This article reviews the theoretical foundations for finite-amplitude Rossby wave activity and related concepts. Theory is then applied to atmospheric data to elucidate how angular momentum is redistributed by the generation, transmission, and dissipation of Rossby waves and to reveal how an anomalously large wave event such as atmospheric blocking may arise from regional eddy-mean flow interaction.

Electromagnetic Precursors to Black Hole–Neutron Star Gravitational Wave Events: Flares and Reconnection-powered Fast Radio Transients from the Late Inspiral

The presence of magnetic fields in the late inspiral of black hole–neutron star binaries could lead to potentially detectable electromagnetic precursor transients. Using general-relativistic force-free electrodynamics simulations, we investigate premerger interactions of the common magnetosphere of black hole–neutron star systems. We demonstrate that these systems can feature copious electromagnetic flaring activity, which we find depends on the magnetic field orientation but not on black hole spin. Due to interactions with the surrounding magnetosphere, these flares could lead to fast-radio-burst-like transients and X-ray emission, with as an upper bound on the luminosity, where B * is the magnetic field strength on the surface of the neutron star.

Formation of Electron Butterfly Pitch Angle Distributions in Saturn's Magnetosphere Due To Scattering by Equatorial ECH Waves

AbstractThe features of electron pitch angle distributions (PADs) often imply different physical mechanisms in planetary magnetospheres. We report a simultaneous equatorial electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) wave event with butterfly PADs of electrons at L ∼ 7.6–9 observed by the Cassini spacecraft. Via calculating the bounce‐averaged electron diffusion rates, we found that Saturnian ECH waves can resonate with ∼10 eV to several keV electrons at <60° pitch angles at time scales from ∼10−8 to 10−4 s−1. Simulations show that the formation of ∼100 eV to ∼1 keV electron butterfly PADs are mainly caused by the pitch angle scattering of electrons at low pitch angles (<30°) and the momentum scattering at intermediate pitch angles of ∼30°–45°, though previous studies suggested the adiabatic transport is the dominated mechanism. Additionally, our results successfully reproduce the variation of peak pitch angles (αp) and phase space density ratios between α90° and αp with L‐shell.

Dynamical oceanographic processes impact on reef manta ray behaviour: Extreme Indian Ocean Dipole influence on local internal wave dynamics at a remote tropical atoll

Physical oceanographic observations were made with subsurface, taut-line moorings at Egmont Island, a tropical atoll within the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean, to elucidate the dynamics of near-bed cold-water intrusions implicated in driving local aggregations of reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi). Manta have been previously shown to aggregate within ‘Manta Alley’, a lipped gully at 65 m depth along the north coast, at times when the surface to bottom temperature difference was highest. We here identify the dynamical processes driving these temperature differences and shaping the foraging landscape at Egmont, and equivalent small-scale atolls, improving our understanding of manta behavior at hotspots where they are most vulnerable to exploitation.The thermal regime within Manta Alley is shown to be governed at several spatiotemporal scales. The extreme 2019 Indian Ocean Dipole event drove a depression of the 26 °C isotherm to a depth of 115 m precluding the observation of cooling within the alley. As the thermocline shoaled with the change in phase of the IOD, near bed cold water flushing was seen with tidal periodicity within the gully. The internal tide is accompanied by high frequency internal waves with periods of O (5 min) which are shown to promote mixing through shear instability, evidenced by subcritical Richardson numbers, with surface-seabed temperature differences ∼4 °C observed throughout a tidal period.Our results highlight a level of heterogeneity in oceanographic dynamics at sub-atoll spatial scales within an environment in which these processes are rarely resolved. Whilst the physical mechanisms through which these dynamics drive foraging within the resident manta population remain unclear, the generation of turbulence by high frequency internal wave events as shown here may influence zooplankton distributions, improving feeding efficiency at discrete locations within atolls. Our results thus highlight the need to account for fine scale changes in oceanographic conditions when attempting to explain habitat utilization by mobile species.